Sam Pinto
News Editor
The Parti Québécois’ (PQ) proposal to ban public sector workers
from wearing religious symbols in
government workplaces has faced
criticism this past week, including
an opposition campaign run by several McGill professors, protests in
Montreal, and criticism from political leaders across Canada.
If enacted, the Quebec Charter
of Values would ban public sector workers from wearing religious
symbols in government workplaces,
including turbans, kippahs, and large
crosses. Public sector workers who
may be affected include provincial
court justices, teachers, civil servants, university staff, health-care
workers, and municipal employees.
In addition, the Charter would
require that one’s face be uncovered when providing or receiving a
state service—a clause which could
include students, although exact details have not yet been released.
Effects on McGill
As a university, McGill would
have the opportunity to opt out of
the ban every five years, which
could be achieved through a vote in
Senate. Although Principal Suzanne
Fortier addressed McGill’s stance

on the issue on Tuesday, she did not
directly identify the course of action
that McGill will take in response to
the proposition.
“The university must remain a
place for the free and full exchange
of ideas,” she said. “The proposal
to prohibit our professors and staff
from wearing visible religious symbols runs contrary to our principles.
The wearing of such symbols in no
way interferes with the religious and
political neutrality of McGill as an
institution.”
According to the Vice-President University Affairs of the Students’ Society of McGill University
(SSMU), Joey Shea, McGill can address the Charter in several different
ways.
“[The Senate] can comment
publicly on the legislation, they can
officially oppose it via their internal
governance processes or they could
do nothing at all,” she said. “For example, a motion could be brought
forth to Senate by a senator asking
the Senate to officially denounce the
legislation. However, Senate deals
with the academic activities of the
University, so such a motion would
have to be framed within these
terms.”
Shea said she expects Fortier to
mention the issue at the first Senate
meeting of the semester on Sept. 18.

Since the Charter’s official
announcement last Tuesday, the
proposal has stimulated debate
from both professors and students
on campus. If McGill does not opt
out, professors and university staff
would be unable to wear certain
forms of religious symbols to work.
On Saturday, many McGill
students participated in a Montrealwide protest against the Charter.
“McGill’s got to fight this,” said
Thomas Leenders, a PhD student in
religious studies who attended the
protest. “McGill as an institution has
to have the interest of its employees
and its students at heart, and […]
fight this policy of discrimination
against religious minorities.”
According to SSMU’s constitution on General Assemblies (GAs),
SSMU cannot take an official stance
on an external policy that does not
directly affect the acitivites of students. However, according to Samuel Harris, Vice-President External,
SSMU can find other ways to take a
stance on the issue.
“Council can mandate the VP
External to write a letter to the Quebec Government or a letter to the
City of Montreal, expressing a certain point of view,” Harris said. “I
see it as a good opportunity to go to
the GA to actually debate [the Charter], because nobody I’ve talked to

doesn’t want to take a strong position on this.”
Professor organizes campaign to promote awareness
Catherine Lu, a political science professor at McGill, started
a campaign last week that calls on
professors to wear visible religious
symbols to classes and lectures as an
act of protest and to create awareness for the issue. Lu, who identifies as an atheist, wore a hijab to her
classes last week and said she plans
to continue wearing it next week to
raise awareness and generate discussion in her classes.
“I also take it off once I leave
the classroom, so in no way am I
adopting a religion and pretending
to be someone who is faithful to a
religion,” she added. “It’s clearly a
kind of instructive act and a kind of
protest because of the context of the
proposed charter, which says people
should not be wearing such things in
the context of a classroom.”
Several professors from McGill have expressed support for Lu’s
campaign, including Rex Brynen,
Benjamin Forest, and Darin Barney,
who have all agreed to participate in
the campaign. However, Lu has also
received some criticism.
“Some people who actually do
subscribe to certain religious prac-

tices and beliefs [...] worry that this
kind of idea might lead to a kind
of trivialization of religious belief
and practice, so they worry […]
that maybe some people would just
make fun of it, or find it comical because obviously I’m not Muslim,”
Lu explained.
However, Lu said that she does
not think that McGill should opt out
of the legislation if it passes, saying
that this action would legitimize the
bill.
The Charter
While it has already been met
with opposition, the Charter has a
long way to go before it can pass
as legislation. The PQ is a minority government, which means that
they need support from other parties in order to pass it. The Charter will be tabled by the PQ at the
National Assembly and ready for
debate within the next couple of
months.
According to Bernard Drainville, the National Assembly
minister in charge of developing
the Charter, the purpose of the
proposal is to enforce Quebec’s
secularism.
“If the state is neutral, those
working for the state should be
See “Quebec Charter” on p. 3

NEWS

Student Government

SSMU to contribute up to $10,000 towards court case

Highlights from the Sept. 11 SSMU Council include new secretary position created to promote GAs
Shrinkhala Dawadi
Contributor
Table de concertation étudiante
du Québec (TaCEQ, or the Quebec
Student Roundtable)
TaCEQ Secretary-General PaulAntoine Cardin spoke to Council about
TaCEQ’s participation in an ongoing
case in the Quebec Superior Court, as
well as the delay of a congress intended
to address TaCEQ reform. A student
lobbying group, TaCEQ is composed
of four student member associations, including the Students’ Society of McGill
University (SSMU).
Two Quebec university students,
Laurent Proulx and Miguel Bergeron,
filed the case in an attempt to challenge
the Quebec Act of Respecting the Accreditation and Financing of Students’
Associations, which states that every
student in Quebec must be part of a student association. Proulx and Bergeron
argue that the act infringes upon students’ right to free association.
TaCEQ will act as a third party
in the case, and will present a counterargument that supports the existing legislation. SSMU Vice-President Samuel
Harris explained the reasoning behind
SSMU’s support for this initiative.
“[The law] would, in effect, make

SSMU and all student associations optoutable,” he said. “It truly is an existential matter for us. SSMU is so strong and
does so much for its members because
we are 22,000 strong together.”
The Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), and Fédération des enseignantes et enseignants de
CEGEP (FEC-CSQ), are also arguing
against Proulx and Bergeron in the case,
as well as the other three associations in
TaCEQ—Université Laval’s undergraduate society, Laval’s graduate society,
and Université de Sherbooke’s graduate
society.
Harris said SSMU has agreed to
contribute up to $10,000 to the case.
“SSMU has a legal professional
fees line item on our budget, I believe it’s
about $80,000,” Harris said. “TaCEQ as
a whole has agreed to spend just under
$30,000 together. This is something we
all agree on, so [...] we’d be spending
less money on [it] than if [SSMU] wanted to be interveners ourselves [outside
of TaCEQ].”
At Council, Cardin also announced changes concerning an upcoming congress on TaCEQ reform, which
was original scheduled for October, but
was cancelled because the Sherbroooke
graduate student association felt that the
original date did not give them enough
preparation time. Cardin said that an-

SSMU Council sat for the first time this academic year. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)
other congress will be planned in the
near future.
“The associations will meet on
Sept. 21 in Quebec City to decide on a
time frame and an agenda to continue
the discussions,” Cardin said. “For now,
the discussions will be held by each association’s representatives around the
table.”
Harris emphasized the need for
TaCEQ to seek improved transparency
and make an effort to increase bilingualism within the organization.
“[SSMU wants] the TaCEQ constitution and the TaCEQ website to have
a translated version so that it’s accessible to SSMU members,” Harris said.
“We’ve created a TaCEQ budget which
will be going public soon, which outlines specifically where the money is

going.”
General Assembly (GA)
To address challenges meeting quorum at previous SSMU GAs,
SSMU President Katie Larson announced a new marketing program focused on advertising the event. According to Larson, a new secretarial position
was created over the summer to lead the
marketing program, although the position has not yet been filled. The Fall GA
is set to take place on Oct. 15.
Motion regarding an ad-hoc
Mental Health Committee
Council also passed a motion to
create an ad-hoc Mental Health Committee. According to VP University Affairs Joey Shea, the goal of the commit-

tee is to draft a policy on mental health
by the end of the 2013-2014 academic
year. Shea stressed the importance of
creating a university-wide policy as opposed to having individual faculty policies.
“One in five people will experience a mental illness over the course
of their lifetime—mental illness is not
a faculty-specific problem, it affects all
students,” Shea said. “We need an integrated policy to promote awareness
about these issues, and to support all
groups pursuing similar ends.”
Shea also stated that the members
of the committee have not yet been
chosen, but will include herself, SSMU
councillors, and mental health advisory
board representatives, among others.

profile

Principal Suzanne Fortier’s first week on the job
quarelli Symonds (QS) International
Universities Rankings. Previously
ranked 18 in the world, McGill fell to
21 this year, falling behind the University of Toronto for the first time.
“These aren’t very accurate scientific studies, so the margin of error is
big,” Fortier said, adding that the university will examine the data from the
rankings to assess the ways in which
McGill can improve. “A degree from
McGill right now is worth a lot, because the reputation of McGill worldwide is strong. It’s not strong based on
marketing or publicity; it’s strong based
on accomplishments. It’s strong because of the many, many people before
us who have built the reputation of this
university.”
Fortier may also have to address
current political issues, such as the Parti
Québécois’ (PQ) current attempt to pass
the Charter of Values, which would ban
most religious clothing and symbols
worn by government employees at
work. If this legislation passes, McGill
would face the possibility of opting out
of the regulations for a five-year period.
“One of my personal values is that

it is important, when you are part of a
community, to allow that community
to express itself, particularly when it
comes to values and principles,” she
said. “It is difficult for me, having this
value myself, to declare five days into
the job, what this university will do.
However, I know the university has
done quite a bit of work in the past on
diversity and inclusiveness, and that’s
what we need to refer to as a community.”
Since becoming principal, Fortier
has been quick to immerse herself into
the community, including appearances
at Open Air Pub (OAP) and the Students’ Society of McGill University’s
(SSMU) Activities Night.
“The centre of what we do is the
learning environment that we provide
to students; and to do it well, we have
to work together as partners,” she said.
“[The students] are the centre of this
university, so you’ll see me a lot on
campus because I want to learn about
the community.”
While Fortier is still settling into
her new role, Fortier said she will be
paying close attention to what is needed

cG
ill T
r

Having completed her B.Sc. and
PhD at McGill, Suzanne Fortier returned to her alma mater on Sept. 5 as
McGill’s first francophone principal,
second female principal, and 17th principal overall. After her first few days,
Fortier sat down with the Tribune to
discuss how being an alumnus has influenced her life, the value of a McGill
degree, and her first week on the job.
Fortier grew up in Saint-Timothée, Quebec, a small former-municipality located on an island less than an
hour’s drive from McGill. According
to Fortier, her rural background had a
strong influence on her attitude when
she entered the university as an undergraduate.
“One thing I had not expected
coming to McGill—because I was pretty ignorant, there was no one who went
to university before me in my family—
was that I’d be surrounded by the best
people in their field in the world,” she
said. “It’s inspiring. You’re a young person […] and these giants, people whose

names you read in your textbooks,
[were] there and talk[ed] to you. They
were people who allowed me to think ‘I
could do that, too.’ ”
Following her PhD, Fortier held
several leadership positions at Queen’s
University including vice-principal (academic), before becoming the president
of National Sciences and Engineering
Research Council of Canada (NSERC)
in 2006.
Fortier credits McGill’s international reputation with opening doors for
her throughout her career, and expects
it will continue to do so for students
despite the challenges facing the university. Among these challenges are the
$38.3 million cuts to McGill’s budget,
which were announced by the provincial government last December.
“Everyone here has such a strong
commitment to students,” she said.
“Having to take some [budget] cuts­—
that’s the most challenging because
people don’t want to see any diminishing of the quality of the environment for
students.”
McGill has also recently received
media attention for its drop in the Quac-

/M

Emma Windfeld
News Editor

ibu
ne)

The university’s first francophone principal discusses QS Rankings and the value of a McGill degree

i re
Alla
(Alexandra

at McGill.
“I’m keenly aware of the importance of human talent; that means we
must try to offer people opportunities
for doing their best, for developing their
potential,” Fortier said. “The challenge
for all universities around the world
is to think about what it means to be
a learning community in this century.
That’s to me the biggest challenge of all
universities, because it’s a transformation, probably, that we have to be looking at.”
—For a full transcript of the interview, visit www.mcgilltribune.com.

Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

| Tuesday, September 17, 2012

3

Quebec Charter
Continued from cover

cG
/M

“The PQ government’s plan
is divisive, negative and emotional,” Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau told media. “It is designed to be that way. Quebecers
will reject it.”
Conservative
Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney
said that the federal government
would make an effort to review
the Charter of Values to identify
whether it violates the Canadian
Charter of Rights and Freedom.
“If it’s determined that a prospective law violates the constitutional protections to freedom of
religion to which all Canadians
are entitled, we will defend those
rights vigorously,” Kenney said.
—Additional reporting by
Erica Friesen.

Lim

among many Quebecers, with 66
per cent of residents in support,
according to survey firm SOM.
However, many political leaders in Montreal and across the
country have denounced it. On
Wednesday, the mayors of the
municipal districts of the island
of Montreal unanimously voted
to condemn the Charter.
“To reach unanimity like
that, east-to-west in Montreal,
is exceptional,” Philippe Roy,
mayor of Mount Royal, told The
Globe and Mail. “But we’re all
sending the same signal to Quebec—this is not representative of
what Montreal is.”
At the federal level, members
of all three major parties have
criticized the Charter.

y
yle
(Ha

equally neutral in their image,”
Drainsville said at a press conference last Tuesday.
However, there are certain
aspects of religious life that the
Charter would not affect—for
example, religious symbols that
are considered part of Quebec’s
cultural heritage, such as crosses
in the Quebec Legislature or the
cross on top of Mount Royal. It
would also still allow public sector workers to wear small religious symbols, such as jewelry,
and opening prayer would continue at municipal council meetings.
Additionally, the charter wouldn’t
remove property tax exemptions
for religious buildings such as
mosques.
The Charter has been popular

i ll

Trib
une
)

news analysis

University rankings: what are they worth?
Critics suggest rankings are valuable for comparison, but cannot truly assess quality of education
Erica Friesen
Managing Editor
Last Tuesday, McGill lost its
claim as the top university in Canada
to the University of Toronto, according to the 2013 Quacquarelli Symbols
(QS) World University Rankings.
With the release of more rankings
approaching next month, the Tribune
set out to understand what university rankings actually mean, and how
students—both current and prospective—should approach them.
Ranking systems for higher education institutions have existed for
over a century at regional, national,
and international levels. According
to Alenoush Saroyan, a professor in
McGill’s department of educational
and counseling psychology, students
pay attention to university rankings
because of the large financial investment involved in a university degree.
“There’s an absence of information about universities and a desire to
have some kind of a comparison between institutions,” she said. “In the
absence of any other framework that
provides them with that information,
the ranking exercise fills the gap.”
According to Associate Registrar of Recruitment at McGill, Jocelyne Younan, there are three major
rankings that compare the world’s
universities—the QS Rankings, the
Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Shanghai
Rankings. In each case, universities

are given an overall score using quantitative data from the institutions, as
well as qualitative measures of assessment like surveys.
“You have to look at what a
particular ranking measures—publications, presence of Nobel-prize
winners amongst faculty or alumni,
research activity, teaching, etc.—to
determine which ranking suits your
particular academic interest,” Younan
said.
As one of the most widely recognized international rankings, QS
considers over 2,000 universities
every year and ranks the top 800.
Danny Byrne, editor of TopUniversities.com—the website that publishes
QS rankings—said that their methodology is the result of a collaboration
between journalists.
“QS World University Rankings
were first launched in 2004 as a way
to give a rapidly expanding contingent
of internationally mobile students a
more objective way of comparing universities around the world,” he said.
“We wanted to produce an alternative
ranking that took into account areas of
more direct relevance to students, like
academic reputation, employability
and student-to-faculty ratios.”
However, international rankings
such as QS have also been criticized
for evaluating the quality of an educational experience based on broad
and often subjective criteria such as
academic reputation. McGill Principal Suzanne Fortier said that McGill’s
drop from 18 to 21 in the QS Rank-

ings this year is not “significant.”
“These aren’t very accurate scientific studies, so the margin of error is
big,” Fortier told the Tribune. “However, we must watch to see whether
this is a trend or a blip. And more
importantly, we must look carefully
at the data these rankings will provide
us, and take advantage of these to see
where we can put our efforts, particularly where it aligns with the goals of
our university.”

“There’s an absence of
information about universities and a desire
to have some kind of
a comparison between
institutions”
For Saroyan, the methodology
of international rankings is ultimately
flawed for numerous reasons. One of
these is that they base categories such
as university reputation on survey results. For the Times World Rankings,
these surveys only have a one per cent
return rate. Additionally, the use of
“proxy indicators” such as the ratio
of students to faculty, assumes that a
university fulfilling these criteria will
automatically provide a good educational experience.
“If University X has a Faculty of
Law [or a] Faculty of Medicine that
has a very high reputation, that reputation overflows to other aspects of that
university,” Saroyan said. “So even
though Faculty of Religious Studies
or Arts in that university may actu-

ally be pretty bad, it benefits from the
overall reputation of the university.”
Byrne, however, said that the
measures they employ are deliberately generic.
“One of the major difficulties in
compiling an international ranking
is that many of the data sources that
make sense on a national level—say,
average exam grades of students admitted—aren’t always globally available or straightforwardly comparable,” he said. “We therefore have chosen to measure broader performance
areas such as academic and employer
reputation, that are of clear relevance
to students and of importance to all
universities, as opposed to narrow and
prescriptive measures that reward a
given university model or system at
the expense of another.”
Byrne pointed to the QS World
University Rankings by Subject as
one way that QS has addressed the
tendency of overall rankings to privilege large universities over specialist
institutions. He said that ultimately
students should take international university rankings with a grain of salt
when deciding which university to
attend.
“We would never recommend
that anyone base their university
choice purely on a ranking table,”
he said. “But they can provide an invaluable starting point in identifying
institutions around the world that are
strong in a given field, or in an area
that is of particular importance to
you.”

While the methodology of university rankings may be widely debated, Post-Graduate Students’ Society
(PGSS) Secretary-General Jonathan
Mooney said students are also highly aware that the financial situation
McGill currently faces is a cause for
unease when considering the university’s ability to maintain its international reputation.
“McGill does not have the same
level of funding as its peers, and cannot continue to offer a top-quality
education with insufficient resources
indefinitely,” he said. “I think Quebec
society needs to come together and
make clear that properly funding education should be a top priority.”
Ultimately, Younan said there is
no need to “push panic buttons” when
considering McGill’s lowered position in this year’s QS rankings. She
pointed to the fact that McGill’s QS
score this year (90.6) was almost exactly the same as last year’s (90.43),
and that McGill actually increased
their score in the Shanghai Rankings
from 63 to 58. However, she said McGill will continue to pay attention to
their international rankings and seek
to improve them as the university
looks to the future.
“The competition for top student
and profs (sic) is global and fierce,
so we need to stay in the game and
continue our focus on excellence in
teaching and research for which we
are known around the world,” Younan
said.

4

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 |

NEWS

| Curiosity delivers.

student Government

By-election to fill two vacant AUS positions
VP academic and SSMU Arts representative resignations leave AUS executives taking on extra responsibilities
Cece Zhang
Contributor
The Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) is holding a by-election
for two positions, following the resignation of both the vice-president
academic and an Arts representative
to the Students’ Society of McGill
University (SSMU) in the past two
months. The nomination period for
the vacant positions will run from
Sept. 6 to Sept. 24, and the election
period will take place in an online
vote from Oct. 3 to Oct. 8.
“Both elections, which will
occur in the same time frame [and]
on the same ballot, will follow the
same calendar, require the same

compliance with nomination, campaign, and polling regulations, [as
well as] preserve the fairness and
equality of the McGill election system,” Sophia Reuss, AUS chief returning officer of elections, said.
Students may put forth their
name for nomination if they can acquire a minimum of 75 student signatures. Only Arts students may vote
for Arts representative, but both Arts
and Arts and Science students may
vote for the VP Academic.
Former Vice-President Academic Colleen Morawetz resigned
on July 29, citing personal reasons
for leaving the position.
“I am still very invested in the
AUS, and I will be doing all I can to

help the current executives ensure a
smooth transition,” Morawetz said.
On Sept. 4, Steven Curran resigned from his position as one of
three Arts representatives to SSMU.
“[Curran] resigned on the first
day of classes after realizing that
courses conflicted with the AUS
Council meetings, which are mandatory in terms of attendance,” Reuss
said.
At the Sept. 4 AUS meeting,
Council voted that AUS President
Justin Fletcher would be designated
to sit on SSMU Council on behalf of
Arts students until a new Arts representative was elected. They also
determined that an interim vicepresident academic would not be

appointed.
“The executive committee at
this juncture is able to handle the VP
academic portfo1lio tasks,” Fletcher
said, adding that training an interim
VP academic who would then go up
for election may be more disruptive
to their yearly work plans than waiting until October, when the new VP
academic and Arts representative
will be elected.
Duties of the VP academic include acting as a liaison between
AUS and various committees and
university services such as the library and OASIS (Arts Advising), as
well as distributing the Arts Student
Employment Fund, which provides
funding for the creation of academi-

cally based job opportunities for undergraduate Arts students.
Fletcher explained that AUS
operations would not be greatly affected by the resignations.
“The executive committee is
currently handling the responsibilities of the VP academic portfolio,”
he said. “I expect this arrangement
to continue until the conclusion of
elections, with little to no implications for the operations of the AUS.
While they have required the executive committee to put forth more
time, the AUS executives ran for this
position in March with the understanding that it is our responsibility
to serve and protect the interests of
Arts students here at McGill.”

Canada?

Nova Scotians demand action
against mill

G20 officer convicted three
years later

Yasmin Nakhuda loses court
case to reclaim IKEA monkey

Montreal student released
from Filipino jail

Senator Wallin pays off falsely
claimed expense money

Residents of Pictou, Nova Scotia, are demanding that the Northern
Pulp Nova Scotia Corporation mill
be held accountable for damages
to health and to the environment
caused by its pollution since its
opening in 1967.
Discussion surrounding the
mill and its effect on residents has
been a point of contention, as it remains a source of employment for
approximately 250 residents of the
area and puts millions of dollars into
the economy of the region.
According to residents, pollution from the mill has begun to take
a toll on the environment and the
health of residents. The mill’s production of paper products results in
the release of toxins into the air and
waste being dumped into the surrounding natural area.
The town has the nation’s
seventh highest rate of cancer per
100,000 residents of Canada’s 106
health regions. Residents who believe that the high cancer rate is due
to pollution caused by the mill are
demanding change.
Two local residents have created an online petition called, “Premier Darrell Dexter: Clean up the
Pictou Country Pulp Mill,” which
urges the premier to address the
issue. The petition has received
nearly 1,700 signatures to date.

On Thursday, Constable Babak
Andalib-Goortan became the only
police officer to date to be found
guilty of using excessive force during the G20 protests of June 2010.
1,105 demonstrators were detained by police as a result of the
G20 protests over three years ago,
and many have criticized police for
using excessive force. Thursday’s
ruling found Andalib-Goortani
guilty of using violence while arresting protestor Adam Nobody and detaining him in jail for over 30 hours.
The constable, whose sentence
will be announced in November,
faces a maximum sentence of 18
months jail time or a $5,000 fine.
He is also charged with assaulting a
member of the media with a weapon, a case that will proceed to trial
in February.
The plaintiff, Nobody, is pursuing a $14.2 million lawsuit against
officers implicated in the event.
Multiple other civil cases, including a class-action lawsuit launched
by 1,000 people, are awaiting court
dates.

On Sept. 13, Darwin, the infamous monkey found strolling
around an IKEA parking lot last
year, was placed in the custody of an
animal sanctuary.
He was seized from Nakhuda
by Animal Services and placed in
the care of Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary in Sunderland, Ontario. Nakhuda, who had signed over
ownership of the monkey to the City
of Toronto earlier this year, sued the
Sanctuary, claiming that the seizure
of Darwin was unlawful on the basis
that he was domesticated.
Ontario Superior Court Judge
Mary Vallee dismissed Nakhuda’s
claim, citing that Nakhuda’s ownership of Darwin was no longer valid
the moment he escaped from her
care.
“A high onus regarding provision of secure housing for wild animals is appropriate to place on their
owners,” Vallee’s decision reads
“Wild animals, particularly exotic
ones, can be dangerous to the public.”
Aptly nicknamed the “IKEA
Monkey,” Darwin originally lived
with his previous owner, Yasmin
Nakhuda, her husband, and their two
children. Last December, at an IKEA
in North York, Ontario, Darwin escaped from Nakhuda’s car and, soon
afterwards, an image of him wandering the parking lot dressed in a
shearling coat went viral.

Université de Montreal student
Kim Chatillon-Meunier, age 24, returned to Canada on Sunday after
spending several days in jail in the
Philippines.
Chantillon-Meunier was in
Manila for a government-funded internship working with impoverished
women, when she was arrested on
Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as she was about to
board a plane out of the country.
Her quick release from jail
can be attributed to pressure from
the human rights organization
KARAPATAN, and lawyers from
the Philippines’ National Union of
People’s Lawyers.
The Philippines’ Bureau of
Immigration officers took her into
custody Friday night due to her participation in one of multiple antigovernment protests on July 22,
many of which were deemed illegal
for failing to gain a permit from the
government to hold a demonstration.
Chantillon-Meunier’s
boyfriend
Emile Kinley-Gauthier, who was not
arrested, said the two were merely
observing the rallies.
The demonstrations fell on the
day of President Benigno Aquino’s
state-of-the-nation address, and were
in protest of his administration’s alleged abuses of human rights.

On Friday, Canadian Senator
Pamela Wallin finished paying off
the last of the expenses that she had
wrongly claimed, starting in December 2010 until November 2012.
Wallin paid back the $100,600.98
plus
interest—an
additional
$13,938.19—in personal cheques to
the federal government.
Wallin’s senate expense scandal began in May of this year, when
it was found that she was using taxpayer dollars for extra travelling expenses.
After paying her expenses Friday, Wallin made a public statement
in which she accused the auditing
firm who conducted the review of
her expenses, Deloitte, as well as the
Senate internal economy committee
of treating her unfairly.
“Evidence that casts doubt
on the correctness of the amounts
owing was either ignored or disregarded during the review,” Wallin
said in a statement released by her
office.
Despie the scandal, Wallin has
also said that she does not plan to
resign as a Senator.

NEWS
Where is my tuition going?
Curiosity delivers. |

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

5

Understanding your university e-bill
By Cece Zhang
Infographic and design by Maryse Thomas

Administrative charges
McGill collects certain administrative charges that have been approved by the
university’s Board of Governors. These include a Registration Charge ($7.37 per
credit), an Information Technology Charge ($7.19 per credit), a Transcript and Diploma Charge ($1.31 per credit), a General Administrative Charge (up to $46.17),
and a Copyright Fee ($0.85 per credit).

When it comes to paying your e-bill, you may wonder just where all that money really goes. While
tuition fees vary greatly based a student’s place of
residence, academic program, and degree, here is a
brief description of the main categories of fees that
you pay every semester at McGill.

Student service fees
Including a Student Services Fee ($141.50 per term) and an Athletics and Recreation Fee ($127.75 per term), the University Student Services Fees are approved by the Board of Governors and regulated by the Students’ Society of
McGill University (SSMU). The funds are used to provide services to all McGill
students, such as counselling and tutorials, the First People’s House, Career
Planning Service (CaPS), Scholarships and Student Aid, and athletics facilities
on both the downtown and Macdonald campuses.

Student-initiated fees

Tuition and
student fee
breakdown

Student-initiated fees fund services provided to McGill students by
student organizations. Examples of these include AccessMcGill, which
makes McGill accessible to students with disabilities ($2.00 per semester), Student Television at McGill (TVM) ($1.50 per semester), and
Midnight Kitchen ($2.25 per semester). Student-initiated fees must be
approved through a SSMU referenda, and are renewed on a regular
basis.

University and student insurance plan
SSMU offers a Health and Dental Plan, administered by ASEQ (Alliance pour la
Santé étudiant de Quebec), a Quebec medical insurance company for both inprovince and out-of-province students. The annual Health Plan and Dental Plan
charges fees of $120 and $100, respectively. International students are charged for
the International Health Insurance plan, which is approximately $951 per student.

Student society fees

Tuition fees
Tuition fees are the base fee of any student bill, and assist the university with expenses such as staff,
libraries, course offerings, and maintaing facilities. At McGill, tuition fees are influenced by several factors, including residence and citizenship status. The Quebec tuition rate increased by 2.6 per cent in the
2013-2014 school year, amounting to $2,224.20. Tuition for Canadian students from outside Quebec
will be charged an extra 8.5 per cent for an out-of-province supplement on their tuitions, resulting
in a $4,010.70 supplement fee. International students vary in the tuition they pay according to their
program, ranging from $14,949.00 for a Bachelor of Arts to $35,250.00 for a Bachelor of Commerce.

All students are included in both their respective student society—SSMU for undergraduates and Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) for graduates—and
their faculty association. Student Society Fee differs according to faculty, ranging
from $356.94 for Science students to $736.12 for Engineering students. Membership fees to student societies fund the various services they provide—for example,
SSMU’s fee covers WalkSafe and DriveSafe, as well as funds for student groups.

Student society fees by faculty

Tuition fees by place of residence for Bachelor of Arts
Quebec tuition: $2,224.20

= $500

Science
$356.94

Arts &
Science
$365.60

Arts
$374.24

Out-of-province tuition: $6,234.90

International tuition: $14,949.00

Comm.

$439.44
Tuition and student fee breakdown pie chart is not to scale. Student fee percentage in relation to tuition will vary by place of residence. Statistics from mcgill.ca.

Forging a better future for frosh
Over the past several weeks,
revelations of chants involving rape
and sex with minors at St. Mary’s
University in Nova Scotia, and the
University of British Columbia,
have shone another critical light
on university ‘frosh’ events—often
understood as an opportunity for
students to indulge in a multi-day
bacchanal before classes begin.
Here at McGill, frosh has been
a controversial topic; criticisms of a
lack of inclusivity and promotion of
rape culture have persisted over the
years. While there have been gradual changes to the event over the
years—increased restrictions on the
availability of alcohol, and more attempts to include underage students
at various events—the question remains: what do we as a community
need to do to fix frosh?
In the view of this editorial
board, there are some good reasons
for a frosh to exist on campus. Ideally, such a week would give direction to incoming students, dropped
as they are into a completely unfamiliar city with few to no friends.
It also would provide a safe—in
all senses of the word—space for
new students to blow off steam in
the weeks before classes actually
begin.

Bike-gate

James Chapman

Commentary

Living in Montreal, there’s a
lot to be proud of, even more to be
healthily suspicious of, and sometimes, quite a bit to complain about.
Construction blocking your path for
the fifth time this week? Narrowly
avoided getting sideswiped by a
rampaging cabbie yet again? Tuition fees continuing to rise while
your wallet only gets lighter and
lighter? These are all valid concerns, and are all felt by many of us
here at McGill. Sometimes, however, people get up-in-arms about
something so trivial that it begs the
question of why anyone cares in the
first place.
The latest controversy to stir

Production Manager
Steven Lampert
slampert@mcgilltribune.com

However, even in its purportedly improved form, frosh as we
know it today falls far short of this
ideal. The continued emphasis on
heavy drinking substantially reduces the number of meaningful
friendships that come out of the festivities, and the week often presents
an experience not just unreflective
of the rest of life at McGill, but in
many ways wholly divorced from
the reality of it. Many students have
described frosh as a sort of multiday blur, with participants often
feeling like cattle in a herd—deindividualized and acting out of a
desire to fit in.
Often, one of the main contributors to this problem is the behaviour of frosh leaders. Too often the
position of frosh leadership attracts
a certain kind of student—someone who had a good time during
their own frosh in their first year,
who wants to relive that experience
with their friends. The problem
with this is that frosh leaders with
these motivations are often unconcerned—or, at least, not sufficiently
concerned—with the needs of the
young adults they are supposed to
be leading. Some leaders will not
take the time to ensure that all the
students in their group are adjusting

well and interacting with others;
they don’t provide a proper framework for the participants to drink
responsibly, and make no or minimal effort to accommodate underage students, or students who would
prefer not to drink. As in the cases
of the offensive chants brought to
light at the two universities, responsibility for the offensive behaviour
exhibited during frosh weeks is as
much—if not more—the fault of

up the community comes courtesy
of a recent project by McGill University Services, which some see
as an attempt to build an imposing, fortress-like enclosure out of
our once peaceful and scenic campus—no doubt with the intention of
frightening the university’s 38,779
students into simultaneous obedience. “What could possibly be so
terrifying and/or dramatic?” you
may wonder.
As it happens, bike barriers
were installed at the Milton Gates
over the summer. Three foot tall,
dinky, metal bike barriers. ‘Gate’
is a bit of a misnomer, considering
that anyone with an agenda can easily barge (or cycle) right on through
if so desired. They even swing.
As anyone who has wandered
down University Street can attest,
the Milton Gates entrance is jampacked full of students, professors,
and assorted Montrealers on any
given day. If you were to poll a random sample of these commuters,
chances are very few would welcome getting run over by a speeding

cyclist, which is why these barriers
were installed in the first place. A
recent article by the McGill Reporter describes “at least four incidents
of collisions between cyclists and
pedestrians in recent years,” as well
as numerous anecdotes about nearmisses; the implementation of these
bike barriers, modest though they
may be, is purely in the interest of
public safety.
And even if it weren’t, these
gates are so unobtrusive that for
most of us, walking through them
doesn’t even register as an event,
much like opening a door, or putting on pants in the morning. If ever
there was a definition of anti-climatic, it is the gentle brushing aside
of a weakly protesting turnstile. The
whole process is forgettable and insignificant in the extreme, yet these
gates’ mere existence has provoked
members of the student community
to the point of necessitating a 700word essay denouncing them (in
which, by the way, these relatively
innocuous turnstiles are painted as
instruments of anti-environmental,

“Options
for students
leery of the
excesses of the
standard frosh
experience
are often well
under the
radar
”

frosh leaders as of participants.
Furthermore, options for students who seek a welcoming orientation but are leery of the excesses
of the standard frosh experience are
often well under the radar of even
current students—let alone newly
arrived first-years who are just settling into residence or an apartment.
Froshes not coordinated by the

SSMU or faculty associations are
generally under-publicized—leaving first-years with the impression
that it is either standard frosh, or
nothing.
There are some paths to improvement; the development and
ongoing culture of frosh, year after
year, is a self-replicating process—
those who enjoyed the event when
they participated are the ones who
themselves made the conscious
choice to join the bodies that help
shape it in future years, making reform a longer process than it otherwise should be. Those who didn’t
enjoy frosh can provide a more
critical perspective, and suggest the
sorts of improvements that would
make the event more inclusive.
In addition, this editorial board
feels that SSMU, along with other
student groups, need to do a better
job of not simply publicizing, but
normalizing what we currently consider to be the “alternative” frosh
options, so that all incoming students, regardless of their personal
beliefs or disposition, will find a
diverse environment that is not
only inclusive, but more generally
conducive to a psotive university
experience for everybody.

anti-francophone, and anti-intellectual sentiment, all in one go).
The fact that such an argument
is considered worthy of anything
but the paper shredder indicates one
of two things: a lamentably slow
news week around McGill’s downtown campus, during which absolutely nothing of note occurred—
or, failing that, the beginning of the
end for journalism.
Between its vibrant social
scene, dubious political schemes,
gang presence, monetary issues (felt
especially at McGill), and more,
there’s quite a bit to write about in
this city, and even more to gripe
about, if one were so inclined. This
isn’t to say that we shouldn’t protest things with which we disagree;
that’s how democracy works, after
all. If you don’t like something, tell
the people in charge and if enough
people share your view, that something may get changed to a better
something. But whining about bike
gates? That’s just a waste of time.

The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune,
a student society of McGill University. The content of this
publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune
and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not
necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters
to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and
must include the contributor’s name, program and year
and contact information. Letters should be kept under
300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions
judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous,
sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature
will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit
all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written
by the editorial board. All other opinions are strictly those
of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions
of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff. Please recycle
this newspaper.

Erratum
A story in the Sept. 10 issue (McGill emerges victorious in
Shaughnessy Cup showdown) incorrectly identified the McGill
and Concordia football teams’ Shaughnessy Cup series record
as 36-36. This tally, in fact, reflects the two teams’ all-time
record. The Tribune regrets the error.

columnists
A lament
for the
Laptop
Lending
Program

Mary Guay
Commentary
At the beginning of the semester, my roommate found herself
without access to a personal computer for seven days. She managed
to juggle switching classes and registering for conferences by running
to the library between lectures or
borrowing a laptop from a friend for
a few hours. If this had happened
last year, she could have avoided
this hassle by participating in the
library’s Laptop Lending Program
(LLP).
However, recent budget cuts
have forced McGill to make substantial reductions to library services. These include the end of 24-hour

Syria
situation
demands
critical
analysis

Helin Azizoglu

Commentary

In my final year of high school,
I took a course on current affairs.
My teacher was very enthusiastic
about instilling an interest in being
informed, but recognized our unwillingness to spend hours reading
and writing during the dog-days of
spring before graduation. Thus we
spent most of our time debating
social issues about which we were
already relatively knowledgeable,
and stayed away from discussing international issues that would require
more in-depth background research
to truly understand.

Assad against
the world

Avik Jain

Commentary

“I don’t oppose all wars. What I
am opposed to is a dumb war.”
On October 3, 2002, a young state
senator gave an impassioned speech at
an anti-war rally in the face of interventionist musings by the Bush White
House. Two weeks later, the United
States House of Representatives passed
the Iraq Resolution, a move that began
one of the longest military blunders
since the Vietnam War. On the bright

7

access to libraries, the move of the
Life Sciences Library, and the cancellation of the LLP. The LLP has
since been replaced with a bursary
fund that can be accessed via the Minerva financial aid menu. While the
first two cuts doubtlessly affect more
students than the latter, surprisingly
few people are discussing the repercussions of losing the LLP.
The bursary fund, though more
cost-effective to the university than
the LLP, is nowhere near as accessible. The fund is unable to help
students whose laptops have been
stolen or broken just before an important due date. It also adds another
hurdle for students who do not have
the means to purchase a laptop on
their own. The financial aid process
is already filled with lengthy applications that take up a great deal of
time to complete.
The single greatest divide in
education today is social class. Students from wealthier families have
been shown more likely to succeed
academically than their poorer class-

mates who lack the resources needed for academic assistance. McGill,
consistently ranked as one of the top
25 universities in the world, certainly is wildly cheaper than its American counterparts—but for many
students, the costs of tuition, books,
rent, and living are exorbitant.
The financial burden placed
upon students can be offset by loans
and scholarships, but these simply
cannot cover everything. Students
still find themselves unable to afford
an apartment close to campus or a
summer-long unpaid internship. The
LLP managed to offset the costs of
a computer without the paperwork
or hassle of applying for funding.
Under the new Bursury fund, students with financial difficulties will
be forced to spend late nights at the
library, using slow computers instead of working at home while they
wait for approval.
McGill students seem to have
little trouble rallying themselves
around a cause; our campus has witnessed countless protests and dem-

onstrations over the past few years.
McGill students are also in the midst
of a massive campaign for equity
and inclusivity. While ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, and values
are all acknowledged, we seem to
gloss over the practical challenges
of socio-economic differences.
In this respect, the playing field
can never be truly equal, but the
loss of programs such as the LPP

only widen the ever growing gap of
inequality amongst students. For a
community so focused on action, equity, and inclusivity, it’s unclear why
McGill students are more focused
on minute matters such as the installation of bike gates than they are the
loss of such a beneficial program for
their community.

It is not surprising that some
tend to shrink away from international issues. The world is a complicated place, full of cultures and
political systems totally unfamiliar
to us. This lack of familiarity in
turn can deter people from staying
informed—there may be a wealth
of information out there, but the
breadth of such information in and
of itself is intimidating. Where do
we start? What sources do we trust?
How much do we have to know before we can express an opinion without it getting shot down by someone
who knows more, or who has more
conviction in their ideas?
In August, we learned of accusations that the Assad regime in
Syria had perpetuated a mass chemical weapons attack on its citizens.
The attention dedicated to this event
made it more of a faux pas to remain
ignorant about foreign affairs. There
are several reasons for this. First of

all, the nature of events like this are
easily compartmentalized and made
accessible. It is a lot easier to read
breaking news on the UN’s investigation in Syria than it is to follow
the day-to-day logistics of its twoyear, brutal civil war. Moreover,
people are naturally more inclined
to tune in when it seems that the
news might affect them personally—the tense negotiations between
the U.S., Russia, and Syria have left
many Western citizens and scholars
uneasy about the prospect of international war.
This leads to the question of
whether or not our periodic interest
in these crises overseas actually increases our overall awareness about
the topic in question. What is the
true effect of reading a New York
Times article or two about Syria? It
could be highly informative, or procure some unintended consequences. When people only pay atten-

tion to current events at such crisis
points, it leaves them more vulnerable to unreliable and biased information. At best, critical consumers
will acknowledge these limitations
when forming opinions. At worst,
we might ignore it, and proceed to
make assumptions that undermine
the complexity of the issue at hand.
American public opinion on
Syria, for example, has been shaped
enormously by the effects of war fatigue from Afghanistan and Iraq, as
well as the effects of the Arab Spring.
The anniversary of the 9/11 attacks
also impacted many opinions on the
prospect of negotiations and a possible military strike. As often occurs
with such controversial topics, politicians, media outlets, and ordinary
citizens alike have a disconcerting
tendency to make demons of important players in the struggle—comparing President Bashar al-Assad
to Adolf Hitler or insinuating that

the motivations of rebel groups are
purely jihadist. The reality of Syria’s
civil war is far more complex than
these statements imply; while many
acknowledge this, harsh rhetoric
that whitewashes difficult issues
create sound bytes that leave lasting
impacts on unsuspecting consumers
of information.
At the basic level of consumption that most people employ, there
will always be a trade-off between
the acquisition of knowledge and
the inadvertent acquisition of false
premises that we use to construct our
opinions. This does not mean that
we must comb through every possible news outlet to form an opinion,
or otherwise avoid the news at all
costs. Rather, we must always be curious, but humbly acknowledge our
own ignorance and remain skeptical
of everyone, including ourselves.

side, the political gods smile favourably
on the few who challenge such neoconservative attempts at nation building.
The state senator, Barack Obama, went
on to win his 2004 Senate race and gain
edtraction in the 2008-election cycle.
It is doubtful that Obama would
be where he is today had he championed a campaign that shed inconceivable amounts of blood and treasure. His
election brought a collective sigh of relief to the global community—not only
because we fell in love with his words,
but also because we believed he would
stand for a foreign policy in which facts
and reason would triumph over passion
and greed.
Thirty-two years before the great
orator condemned the invasion, a
young Alawite general came to power
in Sunni-dominated Syria through a
bloodless coup. Hafez al-Assad began

a 30-year rule that oversaw massive
economic growth, the establishment
of a neutral foreign policy, and the
empowerment of women and children
through secularism and public education. However, his regime would be
stained by a single, brutal event: the
Hama massacre. In 1982, a siege on
an Islamist stronghold saw Assad’s air
force kill 20,000 militants and civilians. This tragedy is not disputed, but
the western media typically neglects
to mention what led to it. From 1976
to 1982, Syria experienced an Islamic
uprising led by the Muslim Brotherhood, in which civilians, government
officials, and, most notably, schools for
girls, were targeted by suicide bombings and assassinations. The horror of
this insurgency, amidst Assad’s attempt
to build a modern Arab state, terrified
secularists, liberals, women, and reli-

gious minorities, the same groups who
today fear what a rebel victory could
bring.
That state senator is a different
person today. Now president, Obama
has advocated launching a “tactical
strike” on yet another Arab nation, an
incursion that will likely cost billions,
devastate an already-crippled state,
and provide Islamist rebel groups favourable conditions necessary to massacre countless Alawite, Christian,
and Shi’ite Syrians. Clearly, Bashar
al-Assad fails to meet the western standard of statesmanship. However, the
current media image of him ignores the
bigger picture. The regime he inherited
in 2000 was one of the most progressive in the Arab world, and Bashar alAssad liberalized Syria’s economy and
press to an extent unthinkable under
Hafez, while simultaneously welcom-

ing back and liberating thousands of
Syrian exiles and political prisoners.
Although he has been merciless in preserving the nation that his father built,
it is inconceivable to think that a sharia
state would be a suitable alternative to
the modern society that still endures in
the Fertile Crescent today.
It is laudable that the Obama administration is now taking a step back
from its earlier threats of military action. It appears that Secretary Kerry,
who once was on good terms with the
Syrian dictator, has been leashed following brash statements which wildly
oversimplified the situation. If he is any
student of history, specifically the fates
of American leaders who intervened in
internal foreign conflicts, the president
would leave Syria alone.

(Ruidi Zhu / McGill Tribune)

Science & technology
TECHNOLOGY

3D printing takes the stage in modern market

Technology revolutionizes manufacturing and production, from hearing aids to children’s toys
Kieran Steer
Contributor
In the future, children may not
be pasting their coloured pictures
to the fridge. Instead, parents can
breathe life into these drawings by
adding a 3D model to their kitchen.
Lately, the hype around 3D
printing—the technology used to
create these models—has exploded
with buzz about its extraordinary
capacities and potential to revolutionize industry. 3D printing is an
additive manufacturing process that
constructs a three-dimensional solid
object from a digital model.
However, the process is far
from new. In 1983, the same year
that the camcorder and the CD were
invented, inventor Chuck Hull developed the concept of 3D printing.
He founded the company 3D Printing Systems in 1986—though this
technology’s real economic and so-

cietal impact did not come to life for
almost 30 years.
There are two original components that drive Hull’s idea today: the
novel method of additive manufacturing, and accessible computerized
blueprints.
Additive manufacturing is
unique to 3D printers. While traditional manufacturing methods relied
on melting, molding, and breaking
down large pieces of plastics and
metals into a final form, the new
additive mode of manufacturing efficiently builds up the desired object
using micro-layers of plastics and
metals. By taking a blueprint of an
object, the 3D printer adds layer after
layer using powdered plastics or
metals that are solidified via a laser
or UV ray into a final form.
Beyond these benefits of efficiency, digital 3D printing is also
more accessible to the public and
manufacturers than immutable

molds and leviathan manufacturing
machines. The technology is moving in a direction where the general
consumer will have more access to
its uses, compared to the past when
only high technological engineering
firms used these devices. There are
even 3D printers available for personal use, going for less than $1,300.
The accessibility of 3D printing
technology to the public is exactly
what restricted Hull’s technology in
the ’80s and has allowed it flourish
in the past few years.
Far more in depth than our everyday printers, the three-dimensional systems require special computeraided design (CAD) software in
order to design the object through the
computer. In the 1980’s, this kind of
software was far more esoteric and
less efficient, taking months to generate a single prototype. 3D printing
has spent much of its lifetime trucking along in specialized engineering

firms.
Today’s more advanced computer technology has expanded the
horizons of 3D printing systems. The
printers have made their way into numerous branches of industry including medical work, military, and other
forms of research.
For instance, because of the
printers’ ability to build unique objects from a malleable blueprint, the
technology has proved invaluable in
building medical apparatuses including hearing aids and orthopedics.
Since every patient has slight differences in form and structure—such
as in ear size and shape—additive
manufacturing has assisted in creating devices like hearing aids by adjusting a blueprint for each patient,
making hundreds of plastic molds.
This technology has also been
used in the military sector. The VICE
videos on YouTube went viral showing functioning assault rifles built

through the 3D printing process.
Researchers at McGill have also
used the technology to design precise
prosthetics that attach to a dancer and
play music as the performer moves.
Some critics, however, remain
skeptical of the new process’ future
in manufacturing. For example,
Terry Gou, head of Foxconn electric manufacturing goods, stated to
Taiwan media that, “3D printing is
a gimmick [….] If it really is that
good, then I’ll write my surname
‘Gou’ backwards.” Offering to rewrite the spelling of one’s family
name is a bold statement in Chinese
culture.
Despite some doubt, 3D printing has surfaced as a novel and
promising technology. Where precision and selection are needed, 3D
printing has proved an invaluable
technology, continuing to expand the
horizons of modern manufacturing.

Technology

Crowdsourced journalism raises reliability concerns
Scientists search for ways to verify credibility of social media news
Abhishek Gupta
Contributor
Every minute, there are 3,600
more photos on Instagram to like—
and that’s not even including images
posted on Facebook. Inspired by the
volume and speed of information
generated online, the browser Qmee,
in collaboration with Social Media
Agency mycleveragency, pulled together a detailed infographic to illustrate what transpires in the minute
you spend turned away from your
screen.
The vast amount of digital information available online is growing more rapidly each year. This
growth places us in a unique position; for the first time in history, the
rate at which news travels around the
world has exceeded that of the traditional media. Websites like Facebook or Twitter play off of humanity’s documentary instinct, allowing
individuals to quickly share their
experiences with members of the Internet community all over the globe.
However, with this culture of
citizen journalism comes the question of credibility. If everyone can
be a ‘journalist’ online, how much of
the information posted can we trust
as entirely true?
When an earthquake of magnitude 7.6 hit Costa Rica on Sept. 5
2012, the shock waves took about 60

seconds to reach the capital of Nicaragua, Managua. Within the next
30 seconds, the first tweet reading
“tremor” appeared online.
In the case of recent events in
Tahrir Square, where former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced his resignation, Twitter
exploded with tweets documenting
the event. This form of social media
played an important role as a means
of communication within a volatile
environment, as journalists were
forced to leave the area due to safety
concerns.
Journalists paid particular attention to following certain ‘Tweeple’
(Twitter people), designating them
as ground-level sources for the
events unraveling moment by moment. Knowing which of those
profiles were credible was quite a
task—there were tens of thousands
of tweets floating around as the situation transpired.
To address this issue, programs
were used to track social media and
verify its credibility. Andre Pannison, a network scientist at the
University of Turin, created a visualization of all the tweets with the
hashtag #jan25, the suspected date of
Mubarak’s resignation. Each tweet is
represented as a node and ‘re-tweets’
are mapped as lines between these
nodes through the use of a program
known as a Gephi Graph Streaming

plugin.
By analyzing the image, the
credibility of the source could be
inferred from the number of lines
emerging from each node, proving
an amazing tool in the hands of journalists striving to paint an accurate
portrait of the situation as events
progressed at Tahrir Square.
Evidently, there is an interesting shift in the dynamics of content-generation and consumption.
With the widespread capacity of
sharing thoughts online, there is an
abundance of information in times
of crisis. The role of the journalist
has expanded to not only covering
events through one’s own eyes, but
also acting as filters and synthesizers
of news from relevant and credible
social media sources.
We, as students and consumers of web-based social media, are
responsible for contributing to and
receiving a large portion of social
media—and often credibility—questionable. One method of addressing
this issue is looking for alternate
sources confirming the information
or reporting a similar story.
This summer, when a sinkhole
developed on Ste. Catherine while
construction was in progress, social
sites were abuzz with a particular photograph of the incident that
seemed to have originated from the
camera of a passer-by. It was shared

Pannison visualized all tweets with #jan25, the suspected date of Mubarak’s
resignation. Dots represent individual Twitter handles. (Gephi.org)
by Virgin Radio’s Facebook page
and then by McGill students. Over
and over again similar photos were
posted online, all showing different
angles of the same sinkhole shared
on Virgin Radio’s page. In this case,
the consistency and volume of evidence established the credibility of
the incident.
In contrast, last year McGill
was abuzz with people claiming they
had spotted Tom Hanks on a private
tour of the campus in relation to enroling one of his children at McGill.

This time around, not only was there
no photographic evidence, but also
a lack of consistency with respect
to reports of his clothing and tour
group; this diminished the story’s
credibility.
As consumers of social media,
we are responsible for critically assessing the credibility of information
posted online. Even then, the facts
remain blurry, and we must tread a
little more carefully before accepting
any information online as the truth.

10

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 |

science & technology

| Curiosity delivers.

SCIENCE

Taking the ‘science’ from science fiction: Iron Man 3
Emerging technologies resemble superhero Tony Stark’s holographic blueprints
Alexander Messina
Contributor
Science fiction is a genre
known to warn us of the dangers of
technological progress, but sometimes it acts as the one to inspire
it. In the ’60s, viewers of Star Trek
would never have imagined that
small pocket phones, microwaves,
or automatic doors could be possible in 20 years.
Although we can’t pinpoint
exactly what inspires the scientists of today, it is always interesting to look at what technologies
are included in modern movies
and how close we are to achieving
them. This week, we take a look at
some of the science that may have
inspired Iron Man 3, released this
past summer.
3D User Interfaces:
One interesting feature the
Iron Man films continue revisiting
is the concept of a 3D user interface. Throughout the series, superhero Tony Stark plays around with
holograms of his blueprints in order
to design his weapons. Though currently just a novelty on screen, this
technology has the capacity to play
an especially useful role in many

fields today.
Inventor Elon Musk and his
team at SpaceX, a California space
transport company, recognized this
application when they designed a
3D user interface to aid in modeling and designing rocket parts and
engines. The program uses a Leap
Motion controller—a small device
with two cameras and three infrared LEDs which allows users to
interact with the wireframe of an
object that is projected on a screen,
similar to Stark’s manipulation of
his blueprints. The model can then
be produced using a 3D printing
technique called Direct Metal Laser
Sintering (DMLS).
The user currently only has
rudimentary motion control of the
model, but this is simply one application of the technology in action.
There are other examples of 3D
user interface concepts currently
in use that have been developed
by other groups. The applications
range from controlling a robotic
arm to browsing an anatomical
model during surgery, all of which
are accomplished by manipulating
a wireframe on screen.
Regenerating Limbs:
Another interesting idea in

McGill’s medical clubs
Caity Hui, Science and Technology Editor

There are a variety of medical clubs at McGill that provide undergraduate
students with resources and unique opportunities. In case you were overwhelmed at Activities Night, SciTech interviewed two of these organizations to find out what they’re all about.

Medical Direction
Medical Direction is one of McGill’s Pre-Med clubs that reaches out
to any undergraduates interested in a career in medicine. The club hopes
to act as a reliable source for students considering the field by providing
them with as much information and resources as possible.
“Ultimately, we want to help students make an informed decision
and guide them in the right direction,” VP Academic Marian Chen explained. One of the most popular services offered by Medical Direction is
their shadowing program, which provides students with the opportunity
to interact with doctors and gain a better understanding of the profession.
Through Medical Direction, students can also get involved with
Global Medical Training (GMT) —a program that provides students the
opportunity to observe and assist in healthcare for medically deprived
communities in Central American countries. With so much work in the
classroom, GMT offers students the chance to apply their knowledge by
participating in medical assessments and treatment of patients who have
limited public healthcare systems. Chen encourages all students passionate about healthcare to look into the program.
Medical Direction’s next event is a medical school symposium on Thursday Sept. 19 from 6-7:30 p.m. in Leacock 132. You can find more details
about the event at md.sus.mcgill.ca

Elon Musk of SpaceX demonstrates a 3D user interface. (YouTube.com)
Iron Man 3 was the Extremis
project, developed by Iron Man’s
enemy, the Mandarin, to regenerate body parts. The super strength
and fire breathing abilities were fun
in their own right, but the way it
restored amputated limbs was the
truly interesting and much more realistic application.
Salamanders and other animals
like starfish are able to regenerate
their limbs. In fact, adult salamanders can regrow their spinal cord,
heart and even parts of their brain.
The regeneration observed in
organisms like the salamander is accomplished through a complex sys-

tem of chemical reactions and immune cells working together at the
injury site to repair the wound. It
also involves the de-differentiation
of cells to their original state: the
stem cell. Unlike other cells, stem
cells have not yet differentiated
into a particular type of cell—like a
heart or muscle cell—meaning they
have the potential to proliferate into
any type of tissue. Therefore, stem
cells can adopt the properties of the
salamander’s lost tissue in order to
replace the limb.
A similar regeneration system
is present in mammals; however,
due to the scarcity of stem cells, the

effect is not quite to the same capacity. Nonetheless, it is well documented that fingertips in humans
can heal to about their original state
after an accident.
Recent studies in genetically
engineered mice suggest that the
Wnt-signalling pathway, a signaling system that transmits information from outside the cell to within,
is involved in the regeneration of
amputated fingertips. Assistant Professor of Dermatology Mayumi Ito
from the New York University’s
School of Medicine reported his
discovery of self-renewing stem
cells located in the nail matrix (the
part of the nail bed that stimulates
nail growth) in a paper published
June 2013. This finding, among
others, supports the concept that
fingertips are able to regenerate to
their original state after injury.
The regeneration of limbs is
not a novel idea, but it has been researched extensively in recent years
due to advances in genetic and biological techniques. These new studies have offered an outlook on the
biology of regeneration that may
even lead the way to one day restoring an amputee’s limbs.

Student Association for Medical Aid
The Student Association for Medical Aid (SAMA)
is a non-profit, student run organization at McGill. It
provides students with the opportunity to actively participate in various healthcare initiatives with the goal of
helping vulnerable individuals and communities around
the world.
According to U2 quantitative biology student and
three-year member Alex Hofkirchner, SAMA has two
main focuses: promoting local initiatives and medical
aid abroad. During the school year, the club devotes its
time to fundraisers for its summer projects, such as club
nights, samosa sales, and its annual Bachelor/Bachelorette Auction. However, it also participates in various
Montreal-based volunteering initiatives like Santropol
Roulant, which provides a “meals-on-wheels” program
to older citizens.
Over the summer, SAMA sends its members
around the globe to carry out humanitarian aid projects.
Hofkirchner explains that the focus of the projects is the
organization of a temporary mobile clinic to screen and
treat individuals in the most impoverished communities.
Current projects are planned for Ethiopia, Kenya, and
Uganda.
Hofkirchner joined SAMA because it stood apart
from other clubs with similar goals. “I noticed how close
existing SAMA members were. Meetings felt more like
class reunions than weekly gatherings,” he said.
He also liked that SAMA gave its new members a
variety of responsibilities. “Even in my first year with
SAMA, I was taking on responsibilities from scheduling
fundraiser shifts to helping with coat checks and designing promotional posters. The inclusivity of the group

Hofkirchner spent time with children in Namatala,
Uganda, while assisting with a three-day medical clinic
in the village. (Cassandra Morin / SAMA Member)
really drew me in.”
Like many members, Hofkirchner’s favourite part
of his involvement was the trip abroad. “Along with
three other members, I travelled to Namatala, Uganda
where we organized a three-day medical clinic that
treated 1633 individuals,” he explained. “The experience was truly incredible.”
SAMA’s recruitment meeting will take place this Thursday at 7 p.m. in McIntyre Medical Building Room 522

Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

11

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Tony Stark plays around with holograms of
his blueprints in order to design his weapons.
Though currently just a novelty on screen,
this technology has the capacity to play an
especially useful role in many fields today.â&#x20AC;?

(Joyce Siu / McGill Tribune)

Feature

A peek into the lives of undocumented immigrants

By
Jessica Fu

On Feb. 21, the Toronto City
Council passed a motion declaring
Toronto
a
“sanctuary
city.”
According to the Toronto Star, the
motion establishes a formal policy
allowing undocumented individuals
access to city services regardless
of status. The statistics surrounding
illegal immigration in Canada are
unclear, but current estimates by
Professor Peter Showler, director of
the Refugee Forum at the University
of Ottawa, conclude that between
35,000 and 120,000 undocumented
immigrants live in the country.
Discussion of legislation to
address a pathway to citizenship
for undocumented immigrants has
not been introduced to Parliament
in recent years. With an estimated
foreign-born population of 6.8
million, Canada is known as an
immigrant-friendly
destination,
but there are still issues that the
undocumented face.
South of the border, the issue has
seemingly reached a tipping point.
Immigration reform has not only
been addressed in Congress, but has
also seen overwhelming support from
activists, labour unions, employers,
and the president himself, all of
whom are demanding comprehensive
reform.
Earlier this year, the Border
Security, Economic Opportunity,
and Immigration Modernization
Act of 2013 was introduced in
the United States Senate. On June
27, 2013, the bill passed with
overwhelming bipartisan support,

with 68 senators, of both parties, for
and 32 Republicans senators against.
Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY)
introduced the Act and it was, in
turn, written and rewritten by a group
of another seven senators, known
collectively as the “gang of eight.”
The bill would provide a pathway
to citizenship for undocumented
immigrants—of which there are an
estimated 11 million—while setting
up provisions that would strengthen
American border security. Other
parts of the Act address visa backlog
and increasing work permits.
Currently on the table at the
House of Representatives, the Act
has proved divisive amongst voters
and members of Congress. Given
the socially conservative nature
of the Republican-led House, the
future of the Act remains unclear.

Struggles faced by
the undocumented
Fletcher* arrived in Canada on
a business trip from China. Instead
of returning at the end of his trip, he
overstayed his visa and settled into
life without legal status, living with
friends and, occasionally, distant
family. He received a Temporary
Resident Permit and eventually
gained citizenship. He now works as
an insurance salesman and has three
children. They live in a suburban
neighborhood in the Greater Toronto
Area.

Fletcher’s motivations are often
shared by many in similar situations:
the prospect of employment and a
better life for his children.
“My father’s dream was to come
to Canada, and that [had] been my
dream, too,” Fletcher says. “I came
here […] for the chance to achieve
[that dream].”
As posted by the Wall Street
Journal, unemployment in China
rests at an estimated 9.2 per cent,.
Unemployment in Canada, however,
has been reported by the Financial
Post to be around 7 per cent since the
recession. When taking into account
the population disparity between the
two countries—1.3 billion to 34.8
million—the problem becomes much
more clear.
Despite varying motivations,
immigrants typically face similar
struggles: lack of access to health
care, vulnerability to exploitation
in the workplace, and the constant
fear of having their lack of status
revealed.
Without legal status, Fletcher
worked meticulously to stay healthy.
In the few times he experienced
prolonged illness, he chose to pay
in cash and upfront for services at
health clinics.
Between lacking the right to
work legally and requiring a job to
get by, Fletcher was stuck in limbo,
working diligently for each week’s
under-the-table pay, yet unable to
use his skills as leverage for fair
wages. Undocumented immigrants
often find themselves in vulnerable

positions, unwilling to disclose cases
of abuse or harassment, as doing
so would put themselves at risk of
exposing their status.
On Jun. 17, the Washington Post
reported that the owners of multiple
East Coast 7-Eleven stores had
employed over 50 undocumented
workers under false identities, while
pocketing portions of their wages
and requiring rent in cash for living
in their homes. This is just one
example of the precarious situations
immigrants often face.
“I did not have to pay rent to most
of the friends who allowed me to live
with them. Others [in my situation]
are not so fortunate,” Fletcher recalls.
“But I was still wiring funds home
to my parents, and there was never
a week when I thought, ‘this week I
did enough work.’”
In addition to financial difficulties,
undocumented individuals face a
number of social and emotional tolls.
Despite contributing to the economy
through taxes on purchases, property,
and employment, undocumented
immigrants
face
race-based
discrimination, stigma, and blame in
matters such as unemployment rates
and welfare.

Motivating
factors to illegally
immigrate
Gillian’s* father, originally a
citizen of the Philippines, met his

first wife through an arrangement by
his family. In exchange for $1,000, he
married her, applied for a green card, and
then applied for a divorce. A few years
later, he swore the Oath of Allegiance and
became an American citizen. Years later,
he met another woman, an American
living in Guam, who would later become
his second wife and the mother of his
two children. They have since relocated
to the Pacific Northwest.
Although this situation is very real for
some immigrants, it has been frequently
used as a comedic plot point. On
television, Tom Haverford’s marriage to
Wendy on NBC’s Parks and Recreation
is a source of peculiarity and plot
development. In film, Sandra Bullock’s
outrageous and longwinded pursuit of
Ryan Reynolds in The Proposal is based
on her expired work visa and desire to
remain in the United States. But media
portrayal of marriage fraud has rarely
explored the harsh realities that face its
participants in real life—motivations that
drive them to break the law. Marriage
fraud is just a snippet of a larger thread
of issues surrounding the difficulties of
immigration.

“Undocumented
immigrants often find
themselves in vulnerable
positions, unwilling to
disclose cases of abuse or
harassment”
In Canada and the United States,
the decision to commit marriage fraud,
to overstay a visa, or to cross borders
without documentation is not one made
with ease. Motivating factors range
from access to education to employment
opportunities. The consequences, if
marriage fraud or lack of status is
discovered, are accordingly drastic; they
include deportation or the revocation of
citizenship, as well as a ban from the
country.
These individuals have emigrated
from countries around the world and cite
an array of reasons for their displacement.
Those who choose to eschew the route
of obtaining an immigrant visa and
immigrate through a legal manner do so
in the face of a number of obstacles in
achieving legal immigration, including
financial difficulties and lengthy wait
times.
Immigration in Canada is not
subject to country-specific quotas, but
visa processing can still take up to four
years depending on an immigrant’s
location. According to Citizenship and
Immigration Canada (CIC), the cost of
immigration depends on many factors,
such as type of visa, fees that can cost up
to $550 per person, and additional legal
consultation fees.
Wait times for green cards in the
United States depend on a number of
factors, including type of immigrant visa
and country of origin. Due to per-country
allowances, a citizen of the Philippines,
like Gillian’s father, may have to wait
up to 20 years for permanent residency

on a work permit. Within such a time
frame, the immigrants remain affixed to
the terms of their visas, which bind them
to their employer, their area of work,
and a geographic region amongst other
stipulations.
Marriage, on the other hand, is not
subject to quotas. Permanent residency
can be gained within a year of application,
and the wait to apply for citizenship is
shortened for those married to citizens.
Hence, immigrants sometimes attempt
to forgo the long wait and complicated
process through marriage fraud.

Long-standing
consequences
Oftentimes, whole families will
immigrate and live under the shadows,
and as a result, many children end up
facing another range of issues, which can
include social isolation and anxiety.
Fears of deportation and separation
from parents take immeasurable tolls
on children, who as a result, may do
worse in school, have more physical and
mental health issues, and find themselves
alienated in their community.
Growing Up in the Shadows:
The
Developmental
Implications
of Unauthorized Status is a journal
article published by the Harvard
Education Publishing Group. “Poor
work conditions, such as low wages,
lack of access to benefits, and limited
opportunities for employment, which
are more prevalent among unauthorized
adults, are associated with low academic
achievement among their middle school
and high school children,” the journal
reported.
“It is likely that living in a community
where family members or friends’
parents have been detained or deported
heightens insecurity and may undermine
a sense of belonging and trust. If the
child is a citizen, her sense of belonging
to the nation could be undermined as its
authorities actively seek to expel his or
her parents, siblings, and other loved
ones.”
Given the divisive nature of the issue,
a decision of immigration reform can only
be predicted warily. As the debate goes
on, undocumented immigrants continue
to contribute to our communities, while
struggling with the technical barriers and
emotional tolls of living in the shadows.
Life becomes one of contradictions:
living under a constant cloud of fear,
while trying to maintain an outward
appearance of normalcy. The priority
becomes living, working, and growing
in a country known for its fundamental
freedoms while remaining cautious day
in and day out of what can be revealed
and who can be trusted.
*Names have been changed.

Immigrants who received
permanent residency in May
2013 have waited up to

23

YEARS

20.1
YEARS

10.4
YEARS

Adult siblings coming from
the Philippines
Married adult sons and
daughters of American
citizens from Mexico
Married adult sons and
daughters of American
citizens (not from India,
Mexico, China, nor the
Philippines)

Undocumented immigrants
will be given legal status and
a pathway to citizenship
Source: the Wall Street Journal

Student living
This week’s Student of the Week is
Tricia Olson, a U2 double major in biology and computer science. She was
nominated for her involvement in a
wide range of McGill clubs. Some of
her roles in clubs this year include vice
president of Gamers’ Guild (a club
about board and card games), advertising executive of the Symphonic
Band Club, member of Epilogue Book
Club, and member of the McGill
Mafia Club (a club for the party game
known as Mafia or Werewolf).

McGill Tribune: Do you have a
favourite part about one of the
clubs you are in?
Tricia Olsen: Playing in wind
quintet through band was loads of
fun. I really liked getting to play
in a small group, and I [didn’t
have] the chance [to do so] in high
school.
MT: Do you have a favorite piece
of music that you’ve played with
the band?

TO: [Anton Reicha’s] Op. 91, No.
4, the woodwind quintet, mostly
because I felt we had it well polished by the time we got to the
concert.

MT: What is your favourite game
to play with the Guild?
TO: If we’re talking board games,
probably Dominion, a deck building game.
MT: What is your dream job?
TO: I like to think I could get into
artificial intelligence research
with my degree, but we’ll see.
I could also be a trophy wife or
wealthy heiress, if the opportunity
arose.
MT: You’re having a good day.
What would be your theme
music?
TO: The entire works of Bonobo—
kind of a jazz-influenced electronic artist. It’s excellent music, but
pretty low-key so I could concen-

trate on other things.

MT: Sherlock or Watson?
TO: BBC’s Sherlock, the character, is great—clever, rude, and hilarious. That show is so well done;
I love it.
MT: Favorite place to study on
campus?
TO: Hiding in the Gamers’ Guild
office in SSMU.
MT: If you had a superpower
what would it be? Would you be
a hero or a villain? What would
your name be?
TO: My superpower would be the
ability to apparate*. I would be a
minor villain who apparates into
bank vaults and people’s houses to
steal small amounts of money, so
no one notices. But, I would still

go by Tricia Olson because having
a villainous name would likely attract attention.
MT: What website do you procrastinate on the most, excluding Facebook?
TO: Reddit, by far.
MT: What would be your choice
of weapon in the zombie apocalypse?
TO: A terrible virus to extinct humanity, because if there are no humans left, the zombies will all die
of starvation from lack of brains!
There are no flaws with this plan.
*For those not versed in Harry
Potter terminology, apparating is
a method of transportation akin to
teleportation.

If you need a new go-todestination for your next burger
bonanza, consider the delectable Burger Royal. Located on
St. Laurent between Roy and St.
Cuthbert, this lesser-known joint
serves up succulent burgers with
imaginative toppings. Since their
opening in December 2012, the
owners have vowed to produce
quality products using only inseason Quebec-grown ingredients
and freshly ground meat.
At Burger Royal, no small
detail is overlooked. The restaurant has a casual atmosphere
with hand-painted, silly, burger-themed graffiti covering the
walls. The servers are friendly,
inviting, and eager to accommodate requests and answer any
questions. The owners strive to
maintain a mom-and-pop feeling,
encouraging others to enjoy their
delicious food.

There is a burger for everyone on this menu—including
beef, chicken, and vegetarian options, which you then customize
from an extensive selection of
toppings. These include traditional toppings like lettuce, tomato,
onion, and pickle, but also more
intriguing options such as spicy
mayo, guacamole, jalapeños, peanut butter, and cheese curds.
Burger Royal has also created specialty burgers that regulars rave about. The Mac Attack
Burger is topped with mac and
cheese, bacon, and ketchup. For
poutine lovers, there is a Royal
Poutine Burger. For those looking
for even more decadence, there
is a Foie Gras Burger—a burger
stuffed with goose-liver pâté, and
served with melted Swiss cheese,
caramelized onions, and Dr. Pepper BBQ house sauce. Finally,
there is an off-menu meat-lover’s

burger loaded with hot dogs,
chili, foie gras, and bacon—a secret furtively divulged to me by
my waiter.
My personal choice was the
relatively simple Classic Royal
Burger with sharp cheddar cheese,
spicy mayonnaise, and ketchup.
The burger consists of a welltoasted sesame seed bun with one
beef burger stacked below a large,
ripe tomato slice, crisp lettuce
leaves, and red onions. It is the
perfect amount of bread so as not
to overwhelm the burger flavour.
Just from the appearance of my
burger I expected a delicious first
bite; when I did dive in, I wasn’t
disappointed. Juices began to run
down my hands and wrists—a
sure sign of a respectable burger.
I also ordered French fries, which
were thinly cut and fried to a perfect level of crispiness. You can
choose to accompany the fries

with homemade dipping sauces,
such as honey mustard and mayonnaise.
It is important to note that,
aside from burgers, there are many
other tempting items on the menu
at Burger Royal. There is chili
packed with red kidney beans
to which you can add extra toppings like the house-made cheese
sauce. Additionally, the creative
genius of this burger joint has
turned out various playful milkshakes made with milk flavoured
by favourite childhood breakfast
cereals including Captain Crunch,
Cinnamon Toast Crunch, or Fruit
Loops; many people come in just
for these shakes.
Burger Royal is far from the
traditional burger place, offering
unbeatable fresh meat, wildly creative toppings, and an overall enticingly delicious meal. This hidden gem offers a tempting burger

at a reasonable price, and, fortunately for students, they deliver
too. Their own slogan sums up
the experience perfectly: Natural.
Simple. Delicious.

Curiosity delivers. |

y
b
b
i
r
T
Ask
Dear Tribby,
This summer I met the most amazing guy at
my internship in California. We met on the first day
of work and hit it off immediately. While he’s studying finance at UCLA, I’m a management student at
McGill. We still communicate through Skype and
text messages every day, but I feel like the distance
between us is getting farther and farther. We never
defined what was going on between us or talked
about our plans after the summer. Is this just a
summer fling or an actual relationship?

—Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?
Dear Distance Makes the Heart Grow Fonder:
Summer flings—they end as fast as they
come. They’re fun while they last, but aren’t too
serious. Before you get too bogged down by what
he’s thinking, ask yourself where you want this relationship to go; you’ve got some stake in this too.
If you’re unsure of what he thinks of you, try

STUDENT LIVING

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

15

If you’re missing those summer nights or worrying about pantry mites,
Tribby is here to help.
looking for hints through your conversations with
him. Did he ever refer to you as his partner? How
did he introduce you to his friends in California? If
he hasn’t made it clear that he wants this relationship between you two to continue, there’s a good
chance he viewed this relationship as a summer
fling.
Also, what makes you feel like you’re drifting
apart? Could it be that you’re preoccupied with the
start of classes and a new semester? Does he start
replying in one-word texts and constantly have
reasons to postpone your Skype sessions? This may
also tell you what he thinks about this relationship,
and whether he values it as much as you do. If you
feel like the desire to stay together isn’t reciprocal,
let it end and enjoy the new school year at McGill!
Who knows what will happen next?
However, if you feel that both of you want
to take this relationship to the next level, keep in
mind that although the long distance is difficult, it
certainly isn’t impossible. Making it last requires a
lot of communication. Discuss with him your plans

for your future with him and what you want out of
this. You have to make sure that both of you are
on the same page for your relationship to work.
Whatever ends up happening, just remember that
you had a great summer meeting this amazing guy,
and make the good memories last.

Yours truly,
Tribby
Dear Tribby,
I came back to my apartment after a summer
away only to discover little bugs in my dried oats
and pasta that I kept in my kitchen cabinet over
the summer. What are they and what should I do
about it? Help!

—Bugged Out

Although they contain a ton of protein and
nutrients, they contain even more bacteria and induce allergic reactions in some people. Don’t be
too hard on yourself though; whether or not you’re
completely devoid of hygiene, these insects probably weren’t your fault. Often food from the supermarket contains insect eggs, which only hatch in
warm and humid summer conditions.
With bugs in your dried oats and pasta,
chances are there are also bugs in other food
items that you left behind over the summer. My
suggestion for you is to look through your entire
kitchen—toss those old Oreo cookies that you left
in your cabinet, and throw away that carton of milk
you forgot about in your fridge! Turn it into a kind
of spring—I mean fall—cleaning!

Yours truly,
Tribby

Dear Bugged Out:
Throw it away! It is never a good sign
when there are bugs in your food.

Got a question? Need advice? Ask Tribby!

studentliving@mcgilltribune.com

INSIDER INFO

Making the call when it comes to alcohol
M-SERT explains how to take care of a friend if your night out takes a turn for the worse
(Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune)
Marlee Vinegar
Student Living Editor
Although frosh has come to
an end, the consequences of frivolous alcohol consumption are an
ongoing reality for many university students. Often the responsibility of caring for a queasy companion falls on a friend or a residence
floor-mate.
During this year’s frosh and
Orientation Week, the McGill Student Emergency Response Team
(M-SERT) acted as the primary
first-aid coverage for the week’s
events. A group comprised of 55
student volunteers who are all certified first responders, M-SERT
treats emergencies from muscularskeletal injuries to anaphylaxis,
but the majority of their calls pertain to alcohol and drug-related
problems.
M-SERT’s chief objective
during this year’s frosh was to get
out the message that as soon as
an individual recognizes an emergency situation, one should call
for help rather than try to handle
the situation themselves. Students

should call M-SERT if it occured
at a McGill event or in residence,
and an ambulance if it’s elsewhere.
“In the past, we had issues
where coordinators and frosh
leaders were in the way of the
call and trying to [give treatment]
themselves,” Director of M-SERT
Thomas Schamhart says. “Legally,
[if you’re giving any form of first
aid, as a responder] you’re completely liable for anything that
happens if you’re neglectful and
drinking alcohol.”
As a preventative measure to
stay safe, students should be prepared and know in advance where
they’re going, with whom they’re
going out, and how they’re getting home. Schamhart’s advice is
simple: “Never be alone; you need
someone to recognize that you
are [in] a first-aid emergency.” In
cases where you do find yourself
alone, Schamhart recommends
McGill’s Walk Safe and Drive
Safe services, which facilitate safe
travel at night.
If you’re in a situation where
you think a friend has had a few
too many drinks, the number one

thing to remember is communication. The first step is to assess
their level of consciousness—is
the person alert and responsive to
voice, to pain, or not responsive at
all?
“Ask them: do they know
where they are; do they know their
name; do they know what day it
is? If [someone] can’t answer
those questions, that’s a bad sign,”
Schamhart explains.
For this reason, checking in
and re-evaluating your friend’s
state is crucial. If you’re familiar
with a friend’s reaction to alcohol, it may be easier for you to
determine whether this is actually
a cause for concern or not. For a
person you are less familiar with,
communication is even more important.
Asking an individual if they
want an ambulance is one way of
evaluating the situation. “People
kind of forget [that] it’s a good
question to ask, even if it’s your
friend,” Schamhart explains. “It
also saves you from making the
decisions. They’re the one making the decisions. They’re the one

[ultimately] going to the hospital.”
Also look out for and inquire
about other potential injuries. You
should ask questions like “Did you
fall?” and “Did you hit your head
on the counter?” says Yassmin Behzadian, M-SERT vice-president
training. “Head injuries are very
serious, it’s almost immediately
911.” The same goes for vomiting
up anything abnormal, like blood,
she added.
When a friend just needs to
turn in for the night, there are other
ways you can help out. You may
want to get a blanket or sweatshirt,
because alcohol depresses activity
in some areas of the brain, thereby
dulling the senses, and your friend
may not realize how cold they are.
Consuming alcohol also causes
dehydration, which may be compounded if a person is vomiting.
Giving a friend a glass of water
will help re-hydrate them and reduce symptoms like headaches,
muscle cramps, and dizziness.
Once your friend is in bed, try
to check on them once in a while
to make sure they’re okay, and
that they haven’t rolled over into a

weird position or vomited in their
sleep.
The M-SERT staff stress
that students should not hesitate
to seek help, whether it is from a
sober roommate, floor fellow, MSERT, poison control (mainly in
the case of drug use), or 911. According to Schamhart, people are
often deterred by the potential repercussions of being caught using
substances.
“Do not be afraid of the consequences, as keeping your friend
healthy is the most important
choice you can make,” Schamhart
advises. If you’re not in a condition where you can provide that
care, it’s your responsibility to
find someone who can.
M-SERT’s office is located
in room B23 in the SSMU Building. A team is situated in Molson
and La Citadelle Residences every
evening from 6p.m.- 6a.m. They
can be reached by contacting McGill Security Services at (514)
398-3000. Office telephone: (514)
398-5216.

arts & entertainment
MUSIC

McGill alumnus Mary Alouette explores gypsy jazz on a lark
Singer-songwriter adapts creative roots in Montreal to New York showbusiness
Max Bledstein
Contributor
What would gypsy jazz and
electronic music sound like together? Singer-songwriter Mary Alouette provides the answer on her latest EP, The Lark.
“I love both genres of music,
and their styles complement each
other well,” Alouette says. “The
combination is a way for me to realize musical interests that I have
and to see them all. I feel a little bit
cheated if I’m only doing one—why
not do everything that you enjoy?”
Her casual approach undersells
the remarkable cohesion that she
finds between the two styles in her
music.
Alouette’s fusion of the genres
was part of the natural progression
of her career. She found gypsy jazz
by answering a Craigslist ad, after
which it became a constant source of
fascination for her. “It’s funny how
Craigslist can change your life,” she
says with a laugh.
Alouette had always been inter-

ested in making electronic music,
but until working in a New York
City recording studio, she hadn’t
learned how to do it properly. She
took a job doing mixing and sound
engineering, which led to her aquiring the necessary tools to create her
own electronic music.
A Maryland native and McGill alumnus, Alouette graduated
in 2008 with a major in vocal performance and a minor in drama and
theatre. During her time at McGill,
Alouette went by her birth name of
Mary Kavalauskus, and later adopted Alouette as a stage name.
Currently, she lives in New
York, where she can usually be
found performing, recording, or
composing. Alouette sees a sharp
contrast between life in Montreal
and her life now.
“Montreal’s francophone culture has had a profound influence on
me, almost to the point where I feel
like I’m from Montreal more than
from where I [actually] grew up.”
“It’s much more businessminded here in New York,” she con-

tinues. “In Montreal there’s much
more time to be creative. There’s
more governmental support of the
arts and rent’s less expensive. In
New York, money is a major factor,
and people are all about making it.
I feel like you have to push harder
to make ideas come to you and be
creative here.”
Still, Alouette has also benefitted quite a bit from her current
home.
“I thrive on the energy of New
York. It’s always moving, and it
suits me well. It’s big—there are
so many cultures that are brought
together here. A lot of young artists
are established here, and it’s great
because there’s a huge network of
artists. Most of my friends are artistically involved, so we all collaborate and work on projects together to
build our own portfolios. Ideally I’d
spend half a year in Montreal creating, then come back to New York
and promote the material the other
half of the year. I love them both
dearly.”

12 Years a Slave is agony in the
fullest sense of the word. Chronicling the life of Solomon Northup,
a free black man from New York
kidnapped and sold into slavery in
1841, the film sees director Steve
McQueen (Hunger; Shame) at the
very zenith of his formidable artistic talent. It takes a horrific portrayal to capture a horrific institution. 12 Years is a mesmerizing,
intoxicating tale of man’s capacity
for both unspeakable cruelty and
incalculable courage.
Solomon (Chiwetel Ejiofor)
is first introduced as a prosperous
and cultured family man. After
temporarily traveling to perform
with a pair of unscrupulous circus
performers, one bad night of drinking is all it takes for him to wake
up in chains. Initially, Solomon is
defiant and indignant, as one might
expect. “I don’t want to survive,”
he says; “I want to live.” This attitude is quickly beaten out of him.
This, in fact, is the main reason why 12 Years a Slave is easily
one of the most agonizing films of
the year. McQueen has never been
known to pull punches, and he cer-

12 Years a Slave tackles an inhuman era in America’s history. (USA Today)

tainly doesn’t here. The violence
is swift, brutal, and often unexpected. There are several scenes so
ghastly, so terrifying, that I trembled and flinched in ways I have
never done before during a film.
Yet, the pain one feels sitting in
the audience is infinitesimal to the
misery experienced by someone
born and sold into slavery. This
is the absolute worst aspect of the
film’s on-screen cruelty: the entire
time, one’s mind is racing with the
words, “This once happened. People did this. People still do this.”
It is true that Solomon’s story

is full of wickedly inhuman humans; as Paul Giamatti’s slave
trader says, “My sentimentality
extends the length of a coin.” Yet,
this brutality also makes the flashes of courage all the more formidable and inspirational.
Lupita Nyong’o gives a
breathtaking performance as Patsey, a slave encountered by Solomon once he is sold to the Epps
plantation. Patsey is a raw personality within an equally raw film,
and Nyong’o captures the character with a fullness and deftness that
belies her relatively nascent career.

The other knockout performance comes from Ejiofor. He succeeds in imbuing the role of Solomon with gravitas and grace, but
Ejiofor’s best moments are when
the fragility of the character shines
through. Solomon is neither hero
nor saint, and Ejiofor’s portrayal is
entirely human. The twin powerhouse performances of Ejiofor and
Nyong’o are impactful even with
an exceptionally talented supporting cast (including the always-onform Michael Fassbender and Brad
Pitt).
The smart screenplay by John

E

VI

E

W

Ridley is impressively nuanced,
capturing much of the complex
intersections of race, gender,
and economic status that existed
among slaves and slaveholders.
Hans Zimmer’s score features
deliciously dissonant percussive
turmoil, in addition to the typical
panoply of melancholic strings.
These aspects, as well as the film’s
impeccable pacing, editing, and
cinematography, makes 12 Years
one of the crown jewels at this
year’s Toronto International Film
Festival.
Here,
Steve
McQueen
achieves one of the holy grails of
cinema—12 Years a Slave holds
up a mirror to the darkest forces
of humanity, and forces us to look.
I shed tears, not just for Solomon
Northrup, but also for the countless souls who have suffered and
continue to suffer under the barbarous practice of slavery. And judging by the chorus of sniffles rising
from the audience, I wasn’t the
only one.
12 Years a Slave received its
world premiere at the 2013 Toronto
International Film Festival, winning the People’s Choice Award. It
is set to be released Oct. 18.

Curiosity delivers. |

arts & entertainment

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

17

Film

Blue Jasmine: a riches to rags story
Cate Blanchett joins the Woody Allen pantheon as one of his finest leading ladies
Max Berger
A&E Editor
Jasmine French—the character that Cate Blanchett is already
generating serious Oscar buzz for
portraying in Blue Jasmine—behaves like she could have been
plucked right off the set of another
Oscar-caliber film: Titanic. Jasmine
is an obnoxious, narcissistic social
climber who, like the Titanic itself,
is sinking dramatically throughout
the movie.
In Woody Allen’s new release,
Blanchett’s magnificent performance is the main attraction in Blue
Jasmine, but there’s plenty more to
like about the film. She is flanked by
a strong cast that includes Alec Baldwin and Peter Sarsgaard; also in the
mix are comedians Louis C.K. and
Andrew Dice Clay. Though some of
its plot intricacies seem slightly farfetched––notably in the romance
between Blanchett and Sarsagaard’s
characters––Woody Allen delivers
an engaging story that oscillates
between light comedic phases and
disturbingly heavy ones.
In keeping with the Titanic
analogy, Jasmine’s iceberg is the arrest and imprisonment of her extravagantly wealthy husband Hal (Bald-

win), who is exposed for being a
Bernie Madoff-esque scammer. The
meteoric fall from pampered New
York trophy wife to menial laughingstock takes a serious toll on Jasmine: she has a nervous breakdown
and develops a tendency to publicly
talk to herself, in the persona of her
former social identity. With few assets left, Jasmine flies to San Francisco to move in with her adopted
sister Ginger (Sally Hawkins).
Despite having no other safety
net, Jasmine brings her snobbish
ways across the coast, and continues
to act like she is above the lifestyle
of her working-class sibling. Ironically, one of the film’s many flashbacks reveals that Jasmine actually
prevented Ginger and ex-husband
Augie (Dice Clay) from being moderately wealthy when she convinced
him out of pity to invest some modest lottery winnings in one of Hal’s
projects rather than starting a business. Now it is Jasmine’s turn to be
pitied, as Ginger finds her a receptionist job and tries to transition her
back into life without luxury.
Blanchett’s greatest triumph
is allowing us sympathize with the
insufferable Jasmine—the flashbacks reveal past circumstances
that somewhat explain her current

instability. Her husband has long
been having affairs with many of
the women Jasmine socialized with,
in addition to his noticeably shady
business deals. But Jasmine’s biggest character flaw is her willful
blindness towards anything that
could threaten the lavish identity
she had cultivated for herself. Even
as things implode around her and
she must confront reality, Jasmine
never fully grasps that there is no
returning to the illusion of her idyllic life. Blanchett adeptly depicts
these inner struggles and exposes
an acute sensitivity in an unlikable,
self-absorbed woman who is afraid
of losing her elite status.
Jasmine’s continuing struggle
to regain social composure creates a
dramatic feel in Blue Jasmine, but
Allen leaves room for comedy in the
script as well. Juxtaposing Jasmine
with Ginger’s blue-collar crowd
often makes for amusing back-andforth quips between them. The cast’s
two comics take advantage of limited screen time to make an impact.
Dice Clay’s forceful personality is
perfect for unleashing the animosity
for Jasmine that Augie still harbors
as a bitter victim of Hal’s scheme.
C.K. makes a more humorous and
subtle impression as a goofy but

A rare moment of calm from Jasmine. (USA Today)

savvy rich man that woos Ginger at
a party Jasmine is invited to.
Allen is quick to raise the
stakes—even when things start to
seem a little implausible. For instance, Jasmine stumbles upon a
widowed diplomat (Sarsgaard) at
the party who takes an immediate
liking to her, and never bothers to
verify any of the substantial lies she
feeds him before their relationship
gets serious. He also fails to probe
her very much after noticing the
Xanax she has been taking in his
presence—a bit of a red flag for a
guy with federal government aspirations. When the movie reaches
its harsh climax, marked by another
unlikely plot twist, these such developments are a regular occurrence.

It is a classic adage to say that
rich people have problems too, but
Blue Jasmine finds a way to freshen
up that tired idea by unraveling the
complicated threads of its unstable
protagonist’s story. We may not like
Jasmine, but Blanchett still has us
rooting for this troubled character to
vanquish her inner demons, which
periodically bubble to the surface in
dazzlingly painful moments. Unrealistic as some of Allen’s plotlines
are, the film’s rising action and climax make our acceptance of them
well worth it.
Blue Jasmine is playing at Cinema du Parc (3575 Ave. du Parc)
until Sept. 19. Student admission is
$8.50.

visual Art

A fresh angle on human relationships
Fahmida Hossain Urmi’s kaleidoscopic palette is visually dramatic but regettably brief
Jack Tockarz
Contributor
Visitors pass through a small
room, full of bold, layered colour,
that leads them into to Fahmida
Hossain Urmi’s contemporary expressionistic Angles of Relationships
exhibition at Ame-Art.
Ame-Art is a non-profit collective that houses Mile End artists’
work and displays one gallery at a
time, currently Urmi’s second exhibit. After receiving her masters in art
in her native country of Bangledesh,
Urmi moved to Canada to create and
display her work, slowly integrating
with Montreal culture after learning
French and English. At the vernissage of Angles, Urmi explained that
her greatest joy from the show is finally feeling like a true member of
the art community.
Urmi’s paintings portray this
theme of interpersonal connections
through layered colour and inconsistently-shaped bodies. They are made
with thick layers of paint, creating a

heavy effect.
“Each colour represents the
synopsis of a feeling,” Urmi explains. The paintings are so full
because people always carry many
emotions, but only present the one
currently felt the most.
Without faces, or even defined
shapes, the colours express the
entirety of the paintings’ message.
There are some human forms silhouetted in several pieces, but they have
neutral stances and only convey expression through their surrounding
colour and proximity to similar silhouettes. Each painting presents itself as a collection of distinct shapes
and colours that somehow flow together and evolve with further examination.
“They capture an emotion. Certain moments we feel, but don’t notice. Then there’s a spotlight and you
realize your connections to those
around you,” Urmi says.
Angles of Relationships 06, 07,
and 08 are a set of paintings which
centrally feature what is vaguely the

same facial shape outlined
in black, with an assortment of individual colours and details. Each
o f
the three display a different
feeling based on the same
shape: 06 is chaotic, 07 is
playful, and 08 is inspiring.
These three pieces include
magazine pictures, making them the only ones to
include a medium besides
paint. The picture on 08 includes the caption “Life’s Too
Short,” and, painted underneath,
“Live it!”. These are the only words
in the entire exhibition.
Of Urmi’s 23 pieces, 11 bear
the title Angles of Relationships,
while the rest are either Sans Nomer
or from her previous exhibition,
Prismatique Relations. These other
paintings are not as dramatic as her
newer work, but add to the theme of
the gallery. Regrettably, even with
these additions, the works only take
up one room.
Although this exhibition in-

cludes inne)
(Wendy Chen / McGill Tribu
teresting paintings that may be enjoyable
block or two of the
to ponder, there is only one room galleries, they might want to take a
at Ame-Art, and the quality of the few minutes and peek inside.
art does not make up for its small
Angles of Relationships is on at
quantity. For this reason, Angles of Ame-Art (5345 Ave. du Parc) until
Relationships does not merit the 20 Sept. 22. Admission is free.
minute bus or bike ride from McGill campus. However, if somebody
were to find themselves within a

18

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 |

arts & entertainment

Album

| Curiosity delivers.

could be good

reviews

MUSIC
Herbert Grönemeyer
Germany’s all-time best-selling musician
Herbert Grönemeyer, fresh from the release of his new album I Walk, plays one
of two Canadian dates of his live tour in
Montreal.

Since Sheryl Crow debuted in
the mid ‘90s, she has tried on a number of different personas: earnestly
personal, politically charged, and
now—with her latest offering, Feels
Like Home—folksy country.
The subject matter checks
most of the usual boxes for country
music—passionate flings (“Callin’
Me When I’m Lonely”), casual alcoholism (“We Oughta Be Drinking”), and the allure of the open
road (“Shotgun”)—but fails to say
anything interesting or original
about them. At times, it feels like
every line is a cliché. Nothing on
the album is worse than the cringeworthy line, “Thank god they make
waterproof mascara / ‘cause it won’t
run like his daddy did.”
Thankfully, some tracks are
much more grounded than that,
namely with the one-two gut punch
of “Homesick” and “Homecoming Queen,” two emotionally honest tracks about lost love and the
compromise that comes with fading
glory. The closing track, “Stay at
Home Mother,” which Crow whispers through, is also hauntingly
beautiful. Here, the ostentatious
content of the rest of the album gets
stripped away in favour of a more
personal and real sound.
Sadly, the same can’t be said
for most of the other tracks which
are overproduced in the most inoffensively bland, radio-friendly way
possible. It’s a shame that the album
as a whole can’t rise above these few
isolated moments of greatness—but
the saccharine arrangements torpedo
any nuance that might have otherwise managed to shine through.

“This the s**t that I live for,
with the people I’d die for.”
This catch phase is sung with
as much excitement as the melancholic Abel Tesfaye can muster. It’s
the hook in “Live For,” the single
off of last week’s Kiss Land—Tesfaye’s first major label debut released under his better-known alias
The Weeknd. Featuring Drake,
the hook reaffirms Drake’s ‘You
Only Live Once’ (better known as
‘YOLO’) empire, of which fellow
Torontonian The Weeknd is a member. It’s easy to imagine teenagers
hearing echoes of it on the radio,
quoting the line on Instagram along
with pictures of their friends.
Despite the title of his album
and its seemingly cute “XO” emblem, The Weeknd is anything but
friendly on Kiss Land. The album is
moody and dark, and any offers of
hugs or kisses are strictly passiveaggressive. The Weeknd’s smooth
R&B vocals are the common denominator when vocalizing both his
problems and pleasures, softening
edgier tracks and sharpening gentle
serenades. “Belong to the World,”
another single off the album, exemplifies this. It’s a love song about a
prostitute—a modern “Roxanne”
with a lifted Portishead sample of
aggressive “Machine Gun” drums.
The best songs of Kiss Land
come across like a futuristic Michael
Jackson, with funky production and
heartfelt vocals. Other moments are
duller: otherwise clever, self-conscious sappiness occasionally drips
into cheesy territory, with lines like
“I’ll admit, baby/ I’m a little camera shy/ but exceptions can be made
baby/ ’cause you’re too damn fly.”
Kiss Land, as a foray into the mainstream spotlight, is a smooth and assured debut, but unfortunately lacks
the rawness and hunger of Tesfaye’s
earlier mixtapes.
—Will Burgess

The more their career has
progressed, the more Philadelphiabased experimental rock band Man
Man has reined in their sound.
Whereas their first LPs, The Man in
a Blue Turban with a Face and Six
Demon Bag, were full of frenetic
yelps and bursts of energy, their latest release, On Oni Pond, finds the
band following the polished direction of 2011’s Life Fantastic.
On Oni Pond finds the band
at its most stripped down in every
way, most notably its lineup. Instead of the full band featured on
past albums, only gravelly-voiced
lead singer Ryan “Honus Honus”
Kattner and drummer Chris “Pow
Pow” Powell are featured. Their
early efforts had the tendency to
overwhelm, but On Oni Pond demonstrates calculated complexity: it
retains layers and hooks without the
spasticity of the band’s back catalogue.
This refined sound is best
exemplified in tracks “Pink Wonton” and the fervent “Loot My
Body;” they’re both ripe with accenting horns, guitars, and keys,
but still maintain melodic focus.
Other songs, including the plucked
string-driven “Head On” and sombre ukulele ballad “Deep Cover”
show the band diving headfirst into
more mainstream pop territory. The
album’s largest drawback is its lack
of cohesion between songs; it alternates between high-and low-energy
tracks with jarring transition, making it difficult to digest all at once.
Man Man’s refined sound
maintains the energy of their earlier albums, allowing each song to
shine without being overcrowded
with frenzy. While the record tends
to cover too wide of a musical berth,
the individual songs prove that the
duo’s penchant for hooks still shines
through.
—Matt Bobkin

Sultans of String have always had an interest in expansion.
Though the band started off in 2007
as a duo, they eventually grew to a
quintet. On their latest album, Symphony!, they take that growth to a
new level with the addition of a full
symphony orchestra.
It’s a risky gambit that pays off
remarkably. Though performances
by non-classical musicians with orchestras frequently feel gimmicky or
forced, the combination has yielded
rich, evocative arrangements for the
Sultans’ music.
This isn’t to imply that the
compositions would have been
dull without the addition of the orchestra. The fluidity with which
the Sultans transition between,
and combine styles from around
the world, is extraordinary. Opening track “Monti’s Revenge” has a
rhythm that is heavily influenced
by Klezmer music, a Yiddish/Isreali
genre, while the next track, “Palmas
Sinfónia,” starts off with a funky
guitar lick reminiscent of Nelly’s
“Ride Wit Me” and quickly moves
to a rumba-like rhythm. On “Emerald Swing,” the Sultans manage to
combine a Western hoe-down feel
with a gypsy jazz-inflected melody.
Unfortunately, the Sultans
don’t always play to their strengths.
Certain aspects of the album’s four
ballads are enjoyable; “Sable Island” sounds like the love child of
David Gilmour and Graham Parsons, and the strings on “Luna” call
to mind Arcade Fire’s “Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels).” But overall,
these songs are fairly indistinguishable from one another.
Thankfully, in general, the Sultans, stick to a brightly paced and
highly interactive musical pastiche,
making Symphony! an engaging
and worthwhile listen.

—Chris Lutes

—Max Bledstein

Originally performed underground, in
Montreal’s metro system, Loops is a reflection on the fast pace of daily urban
life. This time around, it makes its premiere on stage in Montreal after a successful series at the Lincoln Centre Institute in New York City.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 12:00 p.m. - 6:00
p.m., Centre PHI (407 Rue Saint Pierre).
Admission is free.
MUSIC
The In ‘n’ Outs
Montreal trio The In ‘n’ Outs play the
grand opening of local rock climbing centre Zéro Gravité, following the release of
their album Zero Gravity this past year.
In an acrobatic performance, the band
promises live music in mid-air for the duration of their show.

Saturday, Sept. 21, 8:00 p.m., Zéro Gravité (4519 Papineau).
MUSIC
The Cheap Speakers
Toronto rock band The Cheap Speakers
play for the second time in their Canadian east-coast tour in Montreal, with
Montreal trio Dany Laj and the Looks,
following the release of their new album
Switches and Levers last spring.

Martlets build momentum after statement weekend
Forwards find net, end goal-scoring drought
Osama Haque
Contributor
The McGill Martlets (1-2)
bounced back from a disappointing
first weekend of RSEQ action with a
victory over the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières Patriotes (0-3)
on Friday night. The Martlets swept
the Patriotes in season play last year,
and will play them once more on
Oct. 20.
The Martlets frontline was
sharp for the entire first half, with
passes that made it behind flatfooted Patriotes defenders. The key
to their offensive attacks came from
persistence in pushing the ball up the
sideline. By doing so, the Martlets
were able to spread out the visitors
over the entire width of the field.
The hosts took advantage of their
opponents with a patient playing
style which led to accurate passes.
Consequently, the Martlets
managed to keep the Patriotes entrenched in the visitors’ own defensive end. Despite enjoying ball possession for most of the game, McGill
was confronted by a resilient UQTR
squad led by their star defender,
Pascale Lapointe, who was able to

Midfielder Hannah Kirby controls possession in a heated encounter. (Cassandra Rogers / McGill Tribune)
deny Martlet attacks on multiple
occasions. The Patriotes’ defensive
game-plan was clear: impose their
physicality on the hosts. However,
their aggressive disposition resulted
in a yellow card at the 33rd minute
to UQTR defender Marie-Gaelle
Grenier.
McGill goalkeeper Victoria
Muccilli tallied four saves en route
to a shutout, and was vital to the
Martlet defence as both a stopper
and a release valve. Muccilli was

W

Around
the

ater
cooler

In case you were too busy trying to figure out where the end of
the line was at Activities Night or where the entrance to Redpath
Library is, here’s what you missed…

called upon frequently to rotate the
ball and lead attacks from the back
as McGill attempted to maintain
possession.
Martlet Head Coach JoseLuis Valdes was frustrated with his
team’s sluggish performance at the
start of the game. “[The] first half
was difficult, and we made it difficult on ourselves,” he said.
Both teams came out of the halftime huddle with a greater sense of
urgency. As the clock ticked away,

the Martlets began to find more and
more cracks in the Patriotes’ defensive scheme. However, the problem
in the second stanza was an inability to hit the target. McGill had nine
shots in the second half but six of
those failed to be directed on goal.
Junior
attacker
Meaghan
Borque was finally able to break
through as she converted on a corner
kick by fellow defender Kelsey Wilson. In nerve-wracking fashion that
mirrored the rest of the game, the

Premier League
The Barclays Premier League
witnessed a classic weekend of
soccer, as powerhouses Manchester
United, Arsenal, and Chelsea, all
graced lesser teams with their
presence. England deemed that
Wayne Rooney looked kingly as he
slayed the Crystal Palace by scoring
the game-winning goal. Rumours
following the match suggested
that the Commonwealth would
do the only reasonable thing and
knight him; unfortunately this did
not happen. Meanwhile, Welshman
Aaron Ramsey floated across the
field while scoring two goals for
Arsenal as they defeated Sunderland
2-0. English football fans became
excited about the prospects of
having Ramsay join Gareth Bale
on England’s World Cup Squad—
I mean, Great Britain’s Olympic
squad. And championship favourite
Chelsea lost. Wait, what?

viewers. McIlroy’s sub-par showing
has prematurely ended his PGA
Tour Championship, a genuinely
unexpected event for golf fans. As
it stands, Jim Furyk leads all golfers
with a score of -13, with Steve
Stricker, who holds a score of -12,
hot on his heels.

Golf
The BMW Championship was
rained out of an exciting finish
on Sunday, postponing the final
round to Monday, Sept. 15. The
lead storyline of the weekend
involved Rory McIlroy, reigning
winner of the event. McIlroy kicked
off the tour with rounds of 7877, a jaw-dropping result for golf

NFL
The National Football League
held its third Manning Bowl, widely
lauded as the greatest sibling rivalry
this side of Mario and Luigi. Peyton
Manning proved once again that he
is actually just a robot wearing a
human costume as he carved up the
Giants to the tune of 307 yards and
two touchdowns as his Broncos won
41-23. For the big, bad and (feeling)
blue, it was revealed that Eli
Manning and Tony Romo had taken
part in a body-swap experiment
for the past two weeks. This was
accepted across the league as the
only possible explanation as to why
the Giants’ quarterback had thrown
seven interceptions and wilted in
the clutch to start the season.
MLB
The American League wildcard race continued on, because
the MLB isn’t content with playing
82 games like other professional
leagues. Six different teams are

Martlets were forced to hold their
breath as the shot redirected off of
a Patriotes player and made it past
UQTR keeper Garbrielle Lamer in
the 77th minute.
The victory was a clear sigh of
relief for the McGill players as they
clinched their first win of the season.
Although the team’s performance
was above average, they did just
enough to secure the three points.
“[The] second half was better,”
said Valdes. “The tempo of the game
was better. We got into a flow. We
played quicker and faster. It was a
win.”
McGill followed up its first
victory with a dominant showing
against the Concordia Stingers this
past Sunday. The Martlets exploded
for three consecutive goals in the
second half, en route to a 3-1 victory.
Valdes has now acquired his
first two wins as Head Coach of the
Martlets, and hopes to build momentum from this match to set the tone
for the season. Meanwhile, McGill
will continue on its journey to reach
the RSEQ playoffs. They play the
Bishop’s Gaiters (2-2) in Lennoxville on Sept. 20 in what will be a
critical match for both teams.

within four games of a spot going
into the weekend. The Orioles
picked up a win to fly past the
Yankees in the standings, although
they were playing the Blue Jays,
so it hardly seems fair. As for the
Bronx Baby Boomers themselves,
they faced their best friends, the AL
East-leading Red Sox in both of their
contests. Adding insult to injury,
slugger Alex Rodriguez was forced
to leave Sunday’s game with a tight
calf in the fifth inning. So maybe it
was really adding injury to insult; or
injury to injury; or maybe karma is
finally punishing A-Roid. Hmmm.
Boxing
Floyd Mayweather makes it
look too easy. He has been dominant
for so long that viewing his fights
is basically a clinical tutorial in
dismantling an opponent. This past
Saturday witnessed one of the most
hyped up fights this side of the the
Thrilla in Manila. Mayweather faced
Canelo Alvarez: a young underdog
who had been marketed as the
golden boy who would take down
King Midas Mayweather under the
bright lights of Las Vegas. Instead,
Alvarez fell to the haymakers like
many before him. Legend has it that
Money Mayweather can only be
beaten by Rocky Balboa.

Curiosity delivers. |

sports

Sports briefs
By Mayaz Alam and Remi Lu

Redmen Baseball
Vs Concordia
The Redmen baseball team
took to the diamond Wednesday
against the Concordia Stingers for
their third meeting of the season.
After tying up the season series
earlier this month, McGill lost to
the Stingers to the tune of an 8-1
blowout. Concordia dominated the
hitting differential 9-4, capitalizing
on a porous Redmen defense to

Redmen Football

The McGill Redmen (2-1)
thoroughly dominated the Mount
Allison Mounties (0-2) in a 48-17
victory in Sackville, New Brunswick
this Saturday. The victory marked
the second season in a row that
McGill has blown out the maritimers.
Quarterback Jonathan Collin was
instrumental in the outcome of the tilt
as he threw for 367 yards while also
totalling three touchdowns— two
passing and one rushing. Sophomore

convert eight out of nine hits into
points.
Vs Carleton
The Redmen took on the
Carleton Ravens at George Springate
Park in a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. McGill kept the first game
close, losing 4-3 to the Ravens as
Charlie Crabb tossed a complete
three-hitter game. However, the
Redmen surged back in the second
game to blitz the Ravens 15-7 for

running back Luis Guimont-Mota ran
for 141 yards for his third straight
week topping the century mark.
The Redmen defence pitched a
shutout in the second half by stifling
the Mounties’ rushing attack and
forcing the opposing quarterback
into bad passes. McGill now faces
Sherbrooke at Molson Stadium on
Friday, Sept. 20 in
a pivotal game that
may have playoff
implications.

their third win of the season. Adam
Gordon sparked the victory for
McGill as he hit a three-run homer
to left field in the fifth inning. It
was a complete team effort as
McGill tied its overall record at 3-3.
The Redmen will face cross-town
rivals Concordia once more this
Wednesday, Sept.
18 at Gary Carter
Field.

Redmen Soccer
Redmen soccer earned four
points out of a possible six over
the weekend. In the first match
against UQTR(1-1-2), McGill (1-21) opened the scoring in the first
half as defender Dominic Bell, who
had previously been injured, slotted
home a pass from fellow freshman
Valentin Radevich. However, the

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Rugby
McGill’s
rugby
programs
travelled to the other side of Mount
Royal in consecutive matchups
against the Montreal Carabins. The
Redmen (2-0) showed resiliency in
a 10-6 victory in another tough test
to start the season. Senior Joshua
Blair and sophomore Estello Nap-Hill
provided the offence to help lead the
team to its seventh consecutive win,
dating back to last season.
In the other match of the
day, the Martlets (2-0) once again
dominated their opposition by a
score of 35-12. Star fly-half Brianna

story of the game was undoubtedly
the sending off of sophomore
goalkeeper Max Leblond in the 59th
minute. The penalty that resulted
from the captain’s dismissal led to
the Patriote goal. The final score
was a disappointment, given that
the Redmen had the upper hand for
most of the match. McGill followed
up the loss by defeating the
Concordia Stingers (1-2), 4-2, for

21

Miller led the effort for McGill with
15 points, 10 of which came from
her 5-5 performance on conversions.
Miller, the game’s MVP, had ample
help as four other Martlets scored
tries in a well-rounded team effort.
The Redmen and the Martlets have
the opportunity to extend their
winning streaks at Molson Stadium
in the home opener
for both squads as
the Martlets kick
off at 2:00 p.m. on
Saturday, Sept. 21,
while the Redmen
will play at 4:00 p.m.

the squad’s first win of the regular
season. Freshman forward Massimo
De Ioia was a force of nature as
a hapless Stingers backline was
unable to stop him from scoring
all four of McGill’s goals. The
Redmen will now make
the
short trip to UQAM
(2-1) to take on the
Montreal Citadins
on Sunday, Sept. 22.

Cross-country — Martlets Third, Redmen sixth

McGill runners climb to respectable finish on Mt. Royal
Martlets look to maintain RSEQ superiority; Redmen face uphill battle
Remi Lu
Sports Editor
The McGill Martlets ran their
first meet this past weekend, taking
to Mount Royal to begin the 20132014 cross-country season. Thirdyear runner Jessica Porfilio topped
the leaderboard for the Martlets,
coming in 11th place with a final
time of 14:57. McGill finished in
third place overall among 21 teams.
The Martlets are welcoming a
number of fresh faces to the team to
round off a roster that is still fairly
young. Head Coach Dennis Barrett,
in his 29th season leading McGill’s
cross-country team, has high hopes
for the women’s roster.
“We have a couple [of] top
recruits[…Emma Norman[...]competed for the University of North
Carolina. She’s now at McGill. She
ran, but she’s coming off a big injury,” he said.
McGill did well at the Mount
Royal meet, with five women finishing in the top 30. Rounding out
the score-sheet after Porfilio was
Georgia Hamilton (16th), Jullien
Flynn (22nd), Norman (26th), and
Evelyn Anderson (27th). The Martlets proved to be the strongest group
in the province as they finished first
among their RSEQ rivals, beating

Runners eagerly await their first race of the season. (Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)
out fourth-placed Laval by a margin
of 35 points.
Barrett was satisfied with McGill’s finish despite not having a
complete squad.
“We were not at full strength.
We had a lot of people that couldn’t
be around[….] From what we had,
and where we were coming from, it
was not a bad outing,” Barrett said.
After finishing a strong 20122013 season that included multiple podium sweeps and an RSEQ
Championship, the women’s cross
country team aims to build upon that
success this year. Their hopes on re-

peating as champions rest upon the
shoulders of 2012 RSEQ Runner of
the Year, Porfilio. However, for the
team to secure the title, the influx of
freshmen need to likewise perform
at a high level.
On the men’s side, the Redmen cross-country team finished
sixth of 23 teams this Saturday at
Mount Royal. History major, fourthyear Alexander Ray led the way for
McGill, coming in 12th place out of
298 runners. Ray finished the sixkilometer race in 19:27, 34 seconds
behind first-place runner Dany Racine from Laval.

Freshman Benjamin Forestell
(20:05), and sophomore runner Vincent Parent-Pichette (20:11), rounded out the Redmen top three in 28th
and 29th place, respectively.
McGill placed behind their top
conference rivals for this season,
the second-placed Laval Rouge et
Or, and the Sherbrooke Vert et Or,
who placed fourth overall. Both
teams will pose a challenge for the
Redmen at the RSEQ and national
levels.
Barrett is unsure of whether his
squad will have the legs to beat the
powerhouse team from Quebec City,

but is confident in the team’s ability
to challenge Sherbrooke for the runner up spot.
“[Laval was] second or third
last year at the National Championships, so they will probably go back
and be in the top three again this
year[….] We will battle with Sherbrooke, maybe, but I expect Laval to
be number one.”
With the slew of new faces that
are now running for the Redmen,
Barrett believes that the team has
enough strength to improve upon
their 16th place finish at last year’s
CIS Championships.
“We had one of our worst races
last year at Nationals, and [with the
team] we have this year, we can definitely do better and improve upon
that,” he said.
Furthermore, Ray is set to make
a big leap this season after a rigorous off-season in which he sought to
improve upon his skills as a runner.
“Alex from last year to this year
has improved greatly. We need our
athletes to train and compete over
the summertime, and he did,” Barrett said.
The Martlets and Redmen are
set to compete once more on Oct.
5 at the Rouge-et-Or Invitational in
their second of five meets this season.

22

Tuesday, September 17, 2013 |

THIRD MAN IN
Last month, the NFL reached a
$765 million settlement with retired
players over concussion-related brain
injuries. The settlement will be used
to compensate retired players and
their families who have suffered from
serious diseases such as Amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, dementia, Chronic Traumatic Encephelopathy, depression,
and other cognitive diseases.
Despite reaching a settlement,
one of the principal terms in the
agreement addresses the issue of
blame for the post-retirement fallout..
“The agreement cannot be considered an admission by the NFL of
liability, or an admission that plaintiffs’ injuries were caused by football,” stated the NFL.
The league has taken a firm
stance; they want players to take their
money and move on, essentially attempting to sweep the entire issue
under the rug. The NFL will be content as long as nothing changes the
game that generated over $9 billion in
revenue last year.
Commissioner Roger Goodell
has set a precedent with this landmark
ruling to a problem that isn’t isolated
within just the NFL. The NHL and

sports

| Curiosity delivers.

Keeping their heads in the game

(The Washington Post)
the NCAA both face similar issues
about player safety.
While the NFL may seem like
the villain, it is unfair to place all the
blame on the league. Football will always be a dangerous game due to the
violent nature of the sport. If all body

can’t Beat Us? Join Us.

contact was removed, the sport would
effectively be a shell of its former self,
and its entertainment value would
plummet. Such a scenario would
almost certainly cause the league to
fold.
However, NFL should take re-

(McGill Athletics)

After a winless 2012 season in
which the team was shut out in half
of its 12 outings, the Martlets have
their work cut out for them this year
as they continue to face extremely
stiff competition within the Ontario
University Athletics league (OUA).
Their journey out of the cellar

crosscountry

(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)

The
McGill
cross-country
program looks to bounce back from a
disappointing finish at Nationals last
season with high hopes surrounding
the young Martlet and Redmen squads.
The Martlets started last season in
dominant fashion, winning five of their
first six meets. This period included
multiple podium sweeps, as well as a
triumph at the RSEQ Championship.

ers may choose to ontinue playing the
sport that they love or use it as a gateway to living a lavish lifestyle.
Elite student-athletes in college
and in high school face the most difficult decision of all. These players
have invested time and effort toward
their craft, oftentimes at the expense
of academics. For most of them,
school is just an opportunity to play
football. Their choice is whether to
take the dream job with a high risk of
injury, or to abandon that plan for the
rest of their life.
Parents of young children also
are confronted with an increasingly
grim dilemma. Should they allow
their children to play football? The
United States’ most powerful parent,
President Barack Obama, said that if
he had a son, he would be wary of allowing him to play football, given the
detrimental impact the game has been
proven to have.
Simply put, the players will
keep on playing. By putting a price
tag on the health and well-being of
its employees, the NFL is trying to
solve a problem that will never truly
go away.
— Adam Taras

Come to our meetings Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. in the Tribune office in Shatner 110
Email sports@mcgilltribune.com for more info

PAR
T III
FALL TEAM PREVIEWS

MArtlet Field
hockey

sponsibility of its players. Neurological research should be at the top of
the agenda to ensure that franchises
are equipped with the knowledge to
diagnose and treat concussions, thus
preventing them.
The NFL must also decree a
mandate to teams that any behavior
risking the safety of athletes will not
be tolerated. There have been admissions from front offices that organizations have repeatedly ignored advice
from team physicians to rest players.
Going forward, the onus falls
almost entirely on the players. The
NFLPA has evidence that the physicality of the game puts athletes at an
extremely elevated risk of suffering
from cognitive impairment. It is thus
up to the players to decide whether
playing football—and the money and
the fame that can come with it—are
worth the risk.
For most players, the decision to
continue playing will be a ‘no brainer.’ Many professional football players come from less fortunate backgrounds. For them, the chance to line
up on Sundays affords them the opportunity to make sure their families
are provided for, and that the vicious
cycle of poverty can be broken. Oth-

COmpiled by: ben carter-whitney, remi lu

will not be made any easier by
the fact that Helen Thompson
and Emma Whitehall, the team’s
two leading scorers, will not be
returning. Despite their departure
and a large number of new arrivals,
there are still familiar faces on the
squad’s roster that should provide a
solid core. The Martlets have already
had a year to grow together as a
team, which serves to strengthen
their chances. Key returnees include
veteran Sarah Main and returning

goalkeeper Marianne Emler.
Coaching duties will be split
this year, as former assistant
coach Vimal Patel joins John-Pierre
Turpain behind the bench. Turpain,
a fixture of the program and 2008
OUA Coach of the Year, will need
to bring back the magic touch from
that season as he looks to right the
ship this season.
Early results have been cause
for cautious optimism, as McGill
won all three of its pre-season

matches against Queen’s and UPEI.
However, the Martlets proceeded to
stumble its first two regular season
games over the weekend against
Western, 0-2 and Waterloo, 1-4.
The story of this season could
either be one of redemption, or one
of further disappointment for the
Martlets. Their next stop is Varsity
Stadium in Toronto, where they will
take on the Guelph Griffons on Sept.
21.

However, they could not transfer their
earlier success to Nationals, finishing
in seventh place.
The Martlets should once
again be a contender for the RSEQ
Championship. They are spearheaded
by returning Conference Runner-of the
Year, third year nursing major Jessica
Porfilio. Other standouts include
sophomore Caroline Pfister, who has
previously represented Canada at
international age-class competitions.
Head Coach Dennis Barrett also
believes that the young roster has the
potential to improve upon last year’s

final standings.
The men’s cross-country team
faced a similar fate as their female
counterparts. A strong regular season
highlighted by second-place finishes
at the McGill Open, the Laval Open
and the Conference Championships
was undone by a 16th place finish at
the CIS Championships. Søophomore
Benjamin Raymond was crucial in last
season’s efforts en route to winning the
Quebec Rookie-of-the Year accolades.
The Redmen have a promising
young core beyond Raymond that
includes sophomore Charles Litwin and

junior Michael Abramson. The team
has also added numerous freshmen to
the roster, hoping to create a youthful
dynamic.
If early season results are any
indication, both the Martlets and
Redmen will need to make big
improvements should they hope to
contend at a national level. While the
Martlets are in a good position to repeat
as RSEQ champions, the Redmen face
a tall task against powerhouse intraprovince squads Laval and Sherbrooke.

Curiosity delivers. |

sports

| Tuesday, September 17, 2013

LACROSSE — McGill16, Carleton 4

23

Redmen ground Ravens in dominant fashion
McGill midfield overpowers Carleton with ease
Mayaz Alam
Sports Editor
This past Saturday, the McGill
Redmen (4-0) lit up the scoreboard
in a 16-4 victory against the visiting
Carleton Ravens (0-3) in an Eastern
Division matchup held in Molson
Stadium.
Over the past few years, Head
Coach Tim Murdoch has turned the
program into a powerhouse, overwhelming opponents with superior
depth and skill. This overt dominance was on display throughout
the length of the affair, as McGill
proved outstanding in all facets of
play.
Sophomore midfielder Christian Barker attributes the strong
start to a renewed sense of focus and
intensity following a rigorous preseason.
“I think that we avoid complacency because of the depth of our
team. Even when we put out the
third or fourth lines, the guys are
always hungry to get out there and
play,” Barker said.
With the exception of a spirited
first quarter in which the score was
4-2 in favour of McGill, the Ravens

Co-captain Nolan Prinzen looks to set up the Redmen attack.
(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)
were muzzled in their attempts to
move the ball up and down the field.
The Redmen employed a zone defence that stretched the entire length
of the pitch, and looked to contain
any fast break opportunities in hopes
of decreasing the likelihood of any
easy goals.
McGill was able to combine a
stout defence with patient attacking
play that exhausted their opponents’
backline. In his first year playing
for the Redmen after transferring
from Lehigh University, attackman

Kevin Donovan led the charge with
a whopping six goals, pushing his
points tally for the season to 14 and
landing him at the top of the CUFLA
points leaderboard.
With the way the Redmen have
played to start the season, no team
has emerged as a viable threat to
challenge their reign as Baggataway Cup Champions. It appears as
though the only way the team will
falter is if they succumb to mental
errors. After imposing their will on
Carleton to begin the game, McGill

conceded two goals in the final three
minutes of the first quarter. From
there, the crisp and precise passing
featured early in the game devolved
into ground balls and turnovers as
time elapsed.
In one such instance, in the
middle of the fourth quarter, Carleton capitalized on a Redmen miscue and raced up the field. The Ravens, led by Bryson Goodman and
Jay Gallant, established a fast break
and were able to score in transition
with Gallant firing it into the net for
his second marker of the night.
Co-captain Alex Rohrbach was
able to shift momentum back in McGill’s favour as he responded quickly with a wrap-around goal—his
third point of the night—squashing
any hope of a desperate comeback.
With the exception of Gallant,
the visitor’s midfielders were unable
to create opportunities for the rest of
the team. This was primarily due to
the play of the duo of McGill captains manning the middle: Brandon
Maclean and Ossie Long. Maclean,
last year’s Baggataway Cup MVP,
dominated the faceoff circle, ensuring that possession was consis-

tently in McGill’s sticks. Long set
the physical tone for the squad, but
ended up conceding four penalties.
The last quarter also reaffirmed
to the rest of CUFLA that the program is in good hands. The lineup,
primarily consisting of freshmen
and sophomores, was able to extend
the final score despite playing significant time with a man down.
The game against the Ravens
was McGill’s second of the weekend
and the first leg of a double-header
that took place in Molson Stadium.
The squad made the short trek to
Concordia prior to Saturday’s contests and blanked the Stingers in a
22-0 victory.
The defending national champions capped off a dominant weekend by brushing aside Nippissing
20–2 in an exhibition game. The victory is the 14th straight win for the
Redmen dating back to last year’s
regular season loss to Bishop’s University. McGill has an opportunity to
avenge the defeat on Sept. 19 as they
travel to Lennoxville to take on the
Gaiters in a heavyweight showdown
between the past two Baggataway
Cup winners.